Pages of a Storybook
by fascifemina
Summary: Drabble Series. Hazuki-centric. Ch17: Insecurities - 'It only served as a reminder that he was nowhere near as close to her as these people.'
1. Chapter 1:  Promise

**A/N: **I dunno if this is gonna be read or what, but what the heck... This is gonna be a series of drabbles following the slow progression of the Hazuki Kei and the heroine's relationship. This is also Hazuki-centric and some lines are gotten directly from the game, so to those who don't want to be spoiled, please play the game first before reading the story. =) Oh and about the heroine's name... I'm not very good with names so I just picked some random last and first names in the GS Translation project guide. XD

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 01: April 4 - Promise

His eyes instantly snapped open, jarring him from his supposedly peaceful sleep as he lay sprawled on the grass. A cool gust of wind caressed his body and caused him to shiver, as if the season was reminding him of how stupid he was for wandering at the back of the school and sleeping on the lawn with only the trees and the deserted church as company.

He couldn't resist it. He was looking forward to the season of Spring and what better way to spend the rest of the morning than to immerse himself in the soothing atmosphere of the forest? The weather - although a bit cold for his liking - was wonderful and the clouds overhead were shaped like frolicking little sheep that goaded him to close his eyes and give in to the promise of a peaceful slumber.

He was supposed to be at the school grounds like all the others who were waiting for the Welcome Ceremony to start. It didn't matter to him... or more like he didn't really need it. He studied in Habataki High during middle school and although there would be fresh faces coming in this year, everything would still be pretty much the same. Besides, the principal wasn't the type to deliver speeches that would hold everyone's attention for even half a minute. What good would it do if he attended?

Also... even if he did attend, he'd probably sleep through the whole ordeal anyway. It made much more sense to him to sleep in a quiet, comfortable place than on a hard, cold chair - which would probably make his muscles sore for the rest of the day - surrounded by impatient whispers of the other students.

He glanced at his watch and realized that only thirty minutes left before the ceremony would start. That meant he only had at least an hour and a half to doze off before he was required to come to class to meet his homeroom teacher. He placed both arms at the back of his head and stared hard at the sky and the passing clouds. He wanted to sleep again, but found it difficult, mainly because the dream that roughly woke him up a few minutes ago started invading his thoughts.

It had been a long time since he'd dreamed of the church and the story of the prince and the princess. He was surprised of how vivid it was, as if he could actually see the light passing through the stained glass windows and illuminating the figures in the story book. He could even hear his own voice reading the paragraphs as his little fingers followed each sentence before flipping to the next page. It was... strange. But what really made the dream so unnerving was the strong emotion that swelled within his gut and continued to remain even after he was jolted awake.

It had been years since he could put a face on that little girl who was with him. This time, however, he had been able to see every detail of that sweet expression of his childhood friend. She had found the fairytale as fascinating as he did back then.

It was surreal... as if it was trying to tell him something.

He remembered how innocent and pure the two of them were, playing and laughing with each other without a care in the world. Every time their parents would come and bring them home, they would stay inside the church and he would do his best to read the story to her. The story book was in German so all she could do was smile at him adoringly as he read her the story, pride filling his chest in every word that left his mouth. And when the day finally came when they had to part ways, his heart broke when she saw the tears in her eyes and he remembered how he had promised to return to her with such determination that it was as if he was the prince and she was the princess in the story.

With a heavy sigh, he sat up and turned his attention towards the almost majestic structure in the middle of the forest. It had been a long time... a very long time. When he finally returned here three years ago and laid eyes again on the same church he'd made a promise at during his childhood, he couldn't help but smile sadly at the memories. So much had happened in his life that he couldn't see himself as the prince he'd promised to become. What happened during those years and how he'd grown so detached and cold towards everyone else were events in his life that he just couldn't explain.

As he grew older, gone were the days where the simplest things were all that mattered. So much had changed and so much was lost.

Completely awake now and frowning at the sudden downward shift in his mood, he dusted himself off and stood up with a need of a change in scenery and something to cool off his head with. He didn't have time to wonder why that particular memory of his long-forgotten childhood decided to haunt him again when the sound of footsteps alerted his ears.

"It's locked..."

There in front of the church doors was a young girl. She had her back turned to him and was focusing intently at the handles as she pushed and pulled at them for quite some time. He narrowed his eyes at her short hair and its color, which was a unique and disturbingly familiar shade of red that was almost brown. His breath caught in his throat at the possibility and before he even realized it, his legs were now carrying him towards the direction of the girl.

"Oh no! I should be at the ceremony by now. I have to hurry..."

He hardly heard the school bell ring when all of a sudden, the girl made a sharp turn and ran straight against his chest. It was then that he caught a glimpse of her face and he felt as if time had stopped at that very instant.

"Ouch!"

The next thing he knew, he was staring down at the girl who was sprawled in an undignified heap on the grass, a painful groan escaping her lips as she rubbed her backside.

"That hurts..."

His mouth went completely dry and he didn't know how long he stared at the girl before he eventually regained his senses. He still couldn't believe his eyes as he held out his hand to her with the intention of helping her up. He wasn't even sure if this was all a crazy dream and his mind was just playing tricks on him. Feeling the need to make sure he wasn't imagining things, he called her. "Hey..."

She was staring at him with an almost dumbfounded look on her expression. Feeling slightly uncomfortable when she still didn't make any move to accept his outstretched hand, he tried again - more insistently this time. "What's the matter? Here, take my hand..."

"O... Okay." She replied with a trembling voice as she clumsily took his hand as he helped her stand up.

"Are you okay?" He could feel his fingers tingling at the contact, dismissing all his doubts that she was just a figment of his sometimes wild imagination. During the time she was pulling herself together, he took the time to continue studying her face.

To his utmost surprise, he realized she still looked the same.

"E-Excuse me!" She choked out and bowed low, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. "Oh, sorry, sir. I was in a hurry, so..."

"I'm a freshman, too." He cut her off. Those were the same brown eyes, the same innocent expression...

"Oh, is that so? Ah! My name is Kimura Akari." She smiled and he was almost taken aback when she had just confirmed to him that she really was the girl in his dream. She was the girl in his childhood whom he played with at this very same church.

She was... his princess.

That one thought was enough for reality to come crashing down on him as if he had been splashed by a bucket full of ice-cold water. He suddenly felt like leaving her there without saying a word. He even mentally slapped himself over and over again as he regretted coming to this place. "Don't you have to hurry to the welcome ceremony?" He suppressed the feeling of irritation festering in his mind in every passing second.

He was so different now, how could she have stayed the same?

"Ah, right!" Her expression brightened immediately at that. He felt his mood lighten up a bit at her upbeat personality. She really hadn't changed... especially her smile. "But... What about you?"

A tug pulled at one side of his lips as he was filled by the happy memories of his childhood. Now that he'd found her again, the times they had spent together became clearer in his mind. He couldn't stay irritated for long because even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he still treasured those memories spent with her when they were children. "I'll have my welcome ceremony here."

In his mind's eye, he could picture the boy and the girl playing in front of the church's gates. He must have spaced out for some time because he found the girl staring back at him with a curious expression. For a moment, his heart skipped a beat at the thought that she might have remembered him. Not wanting to show his unease, he mustered a stoic expression and threw her a questioning glance. "You'd better hurry."

"Okay... Umm... May I ask your name...?"

His name? Would she remember him if he gave her his name? He studied her face more closely. He didn't want her to remember him. He didn't want her to see how far he'd fallen. Even though he had returned, he highly doubted he'd be able to fulfill his promise to her.

He was too different, too different from the boy she used to play with.

Seeing no traces of familiarity in her eyes, he decided to risk it. "Hazuki Kei."

"Thank you, Hazuki-kun."

She left him then and his green eyes followed her back as her figure slowly disappeared from the high walls of the school building, his mood darkening as a myriad of thoughts swirled in his mind it was giving him a splitting headache. Although he was sort of happy to see his childhood friend again, he definitely wasn't expecting her to suddenly turn up in front of him... at this very church.

He dropped down to sit on the stone steps and leaned back, his head tilting upwards to watch the clouds. The birds in the forest chirped a merry tune as the leaves danced and swayed with the cool breeze among the trees. He stared at the huge bell on top of the marbled structure, holding out a hand to the skies with his expression distant.

He had to be careful from now on. He had a feeling that the years ahead would be the beginning of a journey in which fate would unleash its dirtiest tricks on him yet.

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**A/N: **So... what do you guys think? I'm not so sure about the heroine's features, especially her eyes... But I think I read somewhere that she had brown eyes. I dunno where, though. ^^; Anyway, if ever someone did take the time to read this lil' fic of mine, reviews are always welcome. =D


	2. Chapter 2: Prank

**A/N: **It makes me a little sad that no one's reading, but oh well. I kinda expected that anyway. That wouldn't stop me from updating, though. Hehehe! XD

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 02: April 6 - Prank

It was two days after when it happened.

Kei was enjoying the solitude as he followed the path to his way home, his eyes heavy-lidded because of the peaceful atmosphere. The sun was about to set in the horizon and the colors of the sky was a mixture of pink and reddish orange, creating a rather attractive sight that he was tempted to make a small detour at the park and lay down on the bench to appreciate it more fully.

"He's so hot... The magazines don't do him justice."

"I know, right? Even in his uniform he's still so sexy!"

A pair of girls was throwing him a couple of flirty glances on the other side of the road and he gave an inward sigh at their high-pitched voices and suppressed giggles. With a frown, he tucked his hands in his pockets and took longer strides, wanting to avoid any unnecessary confrontations if ever those girls mustered the courage to come and talk to him.

He didn't really mind his part-time modeling career too much. After all, all he did in most photo shoots was to space out in front of the cameras and he'd still get paid for it. Although his family was anything but poor, the money was still a welcome bonus to his allowance. They served their purpose well whenever he made his silver accessories.

What he **did** mind was the popularity that came with it. It wasn't as bad at first, but after a couple of months, it went spiraling out of control. He just didn't get the hype. He was just a high school student. There were loads of other models who were way handsome than him, but for some unexplainable reason, he was always picked on the cover of the Habataki Watcher magazine. People were making such a big deal out of it that he felt as if he was suffocating.

If it weren't for the fact that his uncle kept on pushing him to do these small favors, he would have stopped modeling a long time ago. There were even numerous incidents wherein he refused to go to work, especially if he was in a bad mood or if he just didn't think it was worth the trouble.

Before he'd become a model, not many people liked his distant attitude and no one really bothered to get to know him. When he'd grown popular, they had flocked towards him and showered him with praises that it came to a point where they would make a big deal out of everything he did. They would gush about his good looks, admire him for his innate genius, or idolize his athletic abilities.

He had grown tired of all that and that led him to grow colder and more distant towards them than ever before.

Their numbers eventually dwindled. One by one he watched them leave.

Now, he was alone... Still, he'd rather be by himself than have their blind affections and false friendships.

He stole a glance to his right, his pace gradually getting slower as soon as the two girls were out of his hearing range. Soon he'd be arriving at a fork on the road and he wondered again if he should take a break at the park before going home. His mind was so focused on the debate going on inside his head that he didn't notice the little boy trailing behind him and poking his elbow.

"Hey, oniisan! Hey!"

It took a couple more pokes for Kei to notice the boy who was now smiling widely at him. He raised a confused eyebrow. "What?" The boy was probably not older than twelve and the insignia on the breast pocket of his uniform told him that he was also studying in Habataki, the grade school section.

"Oniisan..." He continued, his smile now forming into a frown. "Can you help me? I forgot my phone at home and I'm supposed to meet my sister so she can come and pick me up." His big brown eyes became rounder as he pleaded with him. "Can you please call her for me?"

Kei blinked. His eyes scanned his surroundings and found the streets deserted except for the two of them. He eyed the boy for a few more seconds, thinking how strange the whole situation was. The boy's facial features were sort of familiar...

"Please, oniisan? It's getting late and mom's gonna throw a fit if I don't get home on time."

Deciding to put all his suspicions away, he shrugged and grabbed his phone from his pocket. "What's her number?" The boy answered with a huge grin and Kei narrowed his eyes at him and his weird enthusiasm. He looked as if someone had given him a whole batch of candies.

Kei was getting rather impatient after the fourth ring. He was about to ask the boy if he gave him the right number when, to his surprise, the boy was nowhere to be seen. He looked around and briefly saw the kid's back before he disappeared on the other side of the street. It was at that time when the ringing stopped as someone picked it up and rustlings were heard. "Hello?" He started when no one seemed to reply.

"Yes?"

He stopped, a bit startled. He recognized that voice. "Who is this?" He asked, frowning.

"Eh? Um... I'm Kimura Akari."

There was an awkward silence that followed. He hurriedly walked towards the street the boy had gone but found no trace of him. He realized then that he had been tricked by the boy. No wonder the kid's features were so familiar! They had the same auburn hair and brown eyes. How could he have missed that? Was he a relative of hers? A brother maybe?

It was bad enough that she was in the same class as him and now she'll know his cellphone number, too? He slapped an exasperated hand to his forehead and sighed. "Oh, the one from the welcome ceremony day. Ah, it's Hazuki." He didn't let his voice waver despite his annoyance. It had only been two days since their meeting at the church and yet fate was turning another one of its gears again.

"Hazuki-kun? How did you get my number?" She sounded so shocked that he almost dismissed the idea that she had anything to do with the prank. Still, he wanted to make sure...

"Well, a grade school student who was passing by gave it to me..." He glimpsed at where the boy disappeared to, trying to find out if the troublemaker was eavesdropping.

"W-Wow~! Isn't that mysterious?" He noted the stutter in her voice and he could almost picture her getting embarrassed. She sounded genuine enough, but seriously what was that boy thinking? Giving him her number? Of all people, why did it have to be him?

Truly irritated now, he said a curt good bye and hung up. Hopefully, she wouldn't call or pester him after this. She may have been his childhood friend before, but he wasn't ready for this yet. He didn't want to face her just yet.

His mind made up, he didn't bother glancing at the direction of the park and just went straight home.

Kids. He would never underestimate them again.

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**A/N: **Again, reviews are always welcome. =D**  
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	3. Chapter 3: Strangers

**A/N:** Yay! People ARE reading this fic! This makes me really happy to know that there are also other Hazuki Kei lovers out there! Woohoo!

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 03: May 19 - Strangers

His lips curled into a small smile as he stared up at the projections, marveling at the different constellations which he had memorized since he was in elementary. Even though he had lost count of the number of times he had come here in the Planetarium, he doubted he'd ever grow tired of watching dozens of stars spread all over the ceiling.

Nothing could beat the real thing, of course, but the thick dust hovering above the city as well as the hundreds of lights from the districts prevented anyone to have the luxury to gaze at the stars. He was too busy with school or his modeling career to plan extended hikes on the mountains, so the only place he could really connect with the beauty of the night sky was the Planetarium.

As the voice of the curator droned on again about the prominent stars of each constellation, he heard Mr. Himuro's loud shushing at the middle row. There were only ten of them who decided to attend the extra-curricular activity. That was understandable. Only a handful of students would ever choose to waste their Sundays studying. Not that he cared much for the added grades since he didn't really need it. But then, it wasn't as if he had anything better to do at home. A visit to the Planetarium was always a welcome distraction.

The show ended half an hour later. As soon as the lights were turned on, Mr. Himuro started to add his own thoughts about the lecture. He barely listened to what the teacher was discussing and would have dozed off right then and there when Mr. Himuro's voice carried a rather commanding tone as he called one of the students for their opinions.

"Sensei, that star was shining millions of years ago." She answered confidently, but still refused to look straight at the fearsome teacher's piercing eyes. Kei glanced at her face and was somehow surprised to find an unwavering interest in her expression. "I find it amazing that even if some of the stars in the constellations had burned out by now, it would still take us millions of years to find out because of the distance."

"That's right, Kimura. Very astute of you to notice. Now..." He looked at Mr. Himuro to find the teacher very pleased with her answer before he elaborated further on her observations.

He was also quite pleased himself as he noticed her listening attentively to the teacher's every word. He didn't expect that she would actually be interested in the field of astronomy. He rarely found people their age who did.

Then again, on those days where he wasn't taking naps during school hours, he did notice how diligent she was in her school work. Mr. Himuro had been driving them like slaves with multitude of homework despite the fact that it was only the second month of the first semester. Still, she was actually taking the challenge like a real sport and wasn't complaining that much compared to the other students.

Or at least he thought she was. How many times did he ever look her way when he wasn't busy napping? Or more like, how many times did he ever look at someone's way at all?

Even so, he gave her the benefit of the doubt as he noticed how serious she was in the lecture. Although... there was that one time where he had caught her sleeping on the desk at the library with a drool dripping from her chin.

Still, he often did that, too. Minus the drool, of course. He decided not to blame her for it.

When the activity was finally over and Mr. Himuro had bid them a safe trip back home, he noticed that she was separated from the group and was standing in front of the boards near the building's entrance. From the looks of it, she was scanning the schedules of the different shows. The students had dispersed and were already making their way towards the station.

Before he turned to leave, he saw Mr. Himuro speaking with her and she looked around to find the other students missing. The panic and embarrassment on her face was enough to make him snort in amusement.

Ever since the incident with the cellphone number and the mysterious grade-schooler, he half expected her to call him sooner or later afterward. After all, why would the kid take the trouble of giving her the opportunity to find out his number if she wasn't going to call him back? To his immense relief though, there were no unwanted calls or mails from her even now.

However, she DID ask him to walk home or go to the coffee shop with her on several occasions. Even though he flat out refused every invitation, it didn't deter her at all and she still continued to ask him whenever they crossed paths.

"Hey, Hazuki-kun!"

Kei was startled out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching. He cursed himself inwardly for taking too long to walk. Not wanting to be rude since she didn't really do anything to annoy him just yet, he tilted his head at her in acknowledgement.

"Do you mind if I walk with you to the station?" She asked, the smile that seemed to be forever plastered on her mouth greeted his own tight-lipped one.

The station was only a fifteen-minute walk from the Planetarium, so he decided that he didn't see any harm in it. Besides, it wasn't like he had any choice. They were going in the same direction, after all. "I don't mind."

"Great!" She walked with a light bounce on her step and he wondered briefly where exactly that energy was coming from. He remembered how she'd been like that when she was still a kid, too. Was she really this upbeat and peppy when they were children? It almost seemed like her energy had increased ten-fold after all those years. "The Planetarium was really interesting. I'm glad I came! I really didn't want to at first but Mr. Himuro was throwing us these scary looks that it'd be like suicide not to go."

Kei let her babble for the rest of the walk. She didn't seem to mind if he didn't talk much or if he only gave her one-word answers. Some part at the back of his mind was expecting her to lash out at him any minute now. He knew less than the average person when it came to people skills, so it wouldn't really surprise him if she grew bored of his company just like the rest of the people who tried to get under his skin.

She had been a sweet, innocent girl years before, but time can do nasty things to a person's personality without them knowing it and he was aware of that so damn well by now. But still, in a way, she was very much a stranger to him as he was to her. He realized then that even though he considered her as a childhood friend, he didn't really know anything else about her except her name, face, and smile.

In short, another part of him had no idea how she would react.

When they arrived at the station, she turned to him with a grateful smile. "Anyway, I'm gonna buy something for my brother first. It was fun talking to you, Hazuki-kun! Take care!" And with that, she disappeared from his sight in the crowd, leaving him with his eyes narrowed together in confusion.

He stood frozen for a whole minute. Was this a joke?

Fun? Talking? To him?

Visibly shaken, he shook his head and decided that he must have been hearing voices in his mind.

He would have to ask her about her strange behavior someday just to clear things up.

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**A/N:** If you're wondering when Hazuki-kun will ask that question with her, play the game and ask him to go to the coffee shop when he's at =). Wahaha! XD And I'm using Himuro's trips to make these two grow closer together. I mean, even though you CAN ask Kei out on dates, with his loner personality, I don't think he'll warm up to anyone that fast. Hehehe!

And yes, the first time I was playing the game, I DID think it was mandatory to go to each one of Himuro's field trips. Sensei's hot and all, but he scared me and I was afraid he'd take some points off my Intelligence stat.

Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to review! At least now I know I'm not completely alone in this. =P

There were 3 unregistered people who reviewed so I'm gonna reply to them here.

**nattie:** Hehehe! Thank you! I'm glad you think I'm sticking to his character. And yes, I do believe he's a very lonely guy. =(

**darkness:** I know right? I really love Kei-kun and it's a great disappointment for me when I found no Kei fics out there (real reason why I'm writing this fic). Oh and I've written some drabbles already that's why the updates are fast. I'll update every 3-4 days. =D

**A fan D:** Thank you so much! I'm head-over-heels in love with Kei-pon, too! Wahahaha!


	4. Chapter 4: Misplaced Concern

**A/N: **I'm still thrilled that people are liking this fic. Thank you so much! XD

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 04: May 26 - Misplaced Concern

Kei frowned as a stranger bumped against his shoulder while another brushed against him arm. The shopping district was packed with people and being one of the taller persons roaming the streets, he could see the top of hundreds of heads moving in a steady pace in all sorts of directions. The honking of horns and growling of car engines coupled with the endless chatter of the different people surrounding him caused his eyebrows to narrow together in distaste.

He hated going to this part of the city. There were far too many people making a racket directly in his ears that it was giving him a headache. People were also huddled so closely together that sometimes he found himself pinned at the center of it all and tugged this way and that. He did his best to avoid being stuck in that nasty situation because it provided strangers a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of him.

And boy, how they abused him whenever he was forced in such a state! There was one time when he had been groped so much that he glared and jostled as frantically as he could just to get free from all those dirty hands. That experience had left him scarred for life.

Ten minutes passed until he finally saw the shop he was looking for. There weren't as many people flocking the entrance, but there were a number of excited kids pointing and laughing at the store's glass windows. Different pets in fancy cages were lined up to attract the animal lovers while discount banners in gaudy colors decorated the store's sign. Tiny bells jingled merrily as he entered the store and an elderly lady manning the counter greeted him with a crooked smile.

"Ah, Hazuki-kun... Good to see you again." She adjusted the round spectacles on top of her nose as she motioned for him to come closer. "What do you want today, my boy?"

Kei's eyes softened at the good-natured old lady and gave her one of his rare smiles. "Ah... the usual, please."

"Oh! Cat food again, eh?" She cackled as she slowly rummaged one of her cabinets. "That's the second time this month! Have you been adopting cats off the streets again?" She teased as she handed him a rather large sack of cat food. Her scrawny hands trembled at the weight and Kei immediately took the heavy load off her arms. "I swear if I didn't know any better, I'll start to think that you're the one eating this and not the cats."

Kei grinned at the old lady's teasing. The last time he entertained her jokes, she had refused to give him cat food for a month and instead offered him some of her home-cooked meals. It was sort of a good thing that she had forgotten about it a few weeks later and even wondered why he never came to the store as much as he used to anymore.

After saying a brief goodbye at the old woman, Kei slipped out of the store and into the bustling streets again. The load in his arms was heavier than usual and he stopped to take a closer look at the package inside the paper bag, checking if she had correctly given him what he had asked for. The cats at the school were surprisingly picky about their food and since he hadn't been able to visit them as much this month, he wanted to give them a nice treat as compensation.

"Hazuki-kun!"

Still a bit distracted by the thoughts of the cats and the food clutched in his hands, it took a few more seconds before he realized that he was being called. His eyes landed on the copper haired girl's smiling face. "Hm? Oh, it's you."

Her smile dropped and she looked up at him with a curious expression. "What's with that response?" She then noticed the large package he was carrying. "Oh, were you shopping? So what did you buy?" She edged closer to have a closer look as if the sack in his hands was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Food." He answered simply.

Her eyes widened considerably as soon as she read the label. "Cat food...? Ehh? You're not going to eat that, are you?" She took a step back and pointed disbelievingly at him. She didn't even give him the chance to explain before she rattled on. "You shouldn't! It's better to eat something more normal for humans, you know!"

"...Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow at her mild scolding. Her reaction was definitely strange. Normally, people would assume that someone owned a cat if they saw that person buying cat food.

His back visibly stiffened. How in the world did she figure out that he had eaten the stuff before?

Well... He HAD been staring at the sack for quite a while now. He couldn't help it. The tasty smell was just too tempting to resist.

"That's all you have to say...?" She frowned before crossing her arms over her chest.

"But they seem to really enjoy eating this." He frowned, thinking about the cats at the school grounds and their insatiable appetites. This brand of cat food was their favorite and for good reasons, too. He didn't see the point why he wouldn't enjoy it as much as the cats.

"...They?"

"Cats." He supplied, his mind a bit elsewhere now. He was getting a bit hungry. Would the cats mind if he ate with them? "The ones that live behind the gym."

A hot blush began to spread across her cheeks at the realization. "Oh... I-I see." She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment and her gaze darted everywhere except to his face. "Of course I knew that. Aha... Hahaha..."

"Right." He said, wondering what she was so embarrassed about. He leaned forward a bit as if he was telling her a closely guarded secret. "Besides, this stuff actually tastes pretty good." If it wasn't so unhealthy, he'd even make it a point to nibble on the stuff if he got the chance.

Her reaction was priceless and he left her standing in the middle of the street with a dumbfounded expression.

It took him an hour later to realize that she had only been worried about him and his weird choice of snacks, but in return for her concern, he had indirectly suggested that she should try eating some cat food herself.

He briefly wondered how strange that must have sounded. Shrugging it off, he entered a convenience store and started to look for the milk he really liked.

Cat food with milk was the best combination, after all.

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**A/N:** Ahh... cat food. In a way, I can relate to Kei's curiosity about its taste. I own two cats and their food DOES smell unbelievably tasty. I'm too afraid to try eating some, though. Hehehe! XD Kei's a pretty weird character but he's sooo freakin' adorable! I really think he's not as serious as he looks.

Thanks so much again for reading and reviewing! You guys are the best!

**darkness01:** I'm so happy you think so! XD I also tried calling Kei for a date every week, but he gets annoyed if you do it often. Hehehe!


	5. Chapter 5: Guts

**A/N:** Advance Merry Christmas to you all! XD

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 05: June 8 - Guts

The sun was unusually hot even though summer was just starting. His warm-up exercises alone caused beads of sweat to trail down to his neck.

Squinted eyes gazed on the goal standing a few meters ahead. He would definitely win this race.

And no, he wasn't being overconfident. One look at the other participants made it painfully obvious that they wouldn't put much of a fight. There were panicked whispers everywhere and they were all throwing him nervous looks as he busied himself with several more squats and push-ups.

What were they so tense about? It was just a race. Sure he won pretty much every race he participated in since middle school, but that shouldn't stop them from having fun with the race itself! Wasn't one of the main points of the Sports Festival was to appreciate sports? Were they so willing to give that up just because they believe they were going to lose?

High-pitched cheers exploded from the sidelines as a number of cheerleaders danced and waved their pom poms around. If they hadn't screamed his name at the top of their lungs, he doubted he'd even realize that those girls were actually cheering for him. He spared them a glance and found unfamiliar faces beaming at him with sunny smiles and grins.

Were they new students? That would likely explain the reason they were cheering him on. They had no idea about his infamous reputation when it came to unwanted attention.

He scoffed. Fan girls. He never did like having one. They tended to cluster in groups and surround him like he was a piece of meat. He remembered the days when he had just started his modeling career and how he'd constantly find his locker full of unnecessary stuff they called 'love letters'.

Most of his male classmates had been envious of him because he had been hoarding all the attention. They had no idea how much he hated it.

The cheering grew louder and he glanced at the other competitors and saw how even more deflated they looked as if they didn't want to race anymore. His hands balled into fists. Sheesh. The last thing he wanted was to make others think he was showing off. He didn't join the race just to intimidate the others into submission!

He just wanted to eat the bread hanging on one of those poles. He liked the race because not only was it fun, he was also going to be rewarded with a tasty treat. Who knew that he would cause this much trouble for a piece of bread?

Terribly annoyed, he backed out from the race at the last minute much to the dismay of the cheerleaders. The other participants were happy, though, and that was all that mattered. He wanted them - particularly the new students - to enjoy their first Sports Festival in Habataki High.

Next year, he would show them no mercy. He disliked people who give up easily without even trying.

The day passed by in a blur as he languidly spent his time sitting on one of the benches and watching the activities flash before his eyes. Before he knew it, it was time for the folk dance and every student was required to participate. The music blared across the field as his body moved rhythmically - almost robotically - along with the others. He could barely even remember the faces of the girls he was forced to dance with.

It wasn't until half an hour later when he was finally paired up with her.

The first thing he noticed was her bad limp, no matter how much she tried to hide it. She was biting her bottom lip too hard and was wincing at every other step as she tried to keep up with the merry tune of the folk dance. Her smile also looked a bit forced and she sometimes leaned too heavily against him whenever her clammy hands were clutched against his own.

He continued to watch her with steady interest.

The dance was soon turning towards the part where she would have to twirl in place while the music would draw into a close. She must have realized it, too, because the smile was wiped off her lips and she was now looking nervously at her right leg. He followed her gaze and found that she had scraped her knee.

It was surprising that those cuts were the only ones she got after that pitiful display during the three-legged race. She had been paired up with Suzuka and everyone watching from the sidelines had been saying that if she hadn't fallen so many times, they wouldn't have ended up in third place.

That didn't stop her, though. Even her partner had been impressed with her determination to continue the race even if the odds were against them.

Clumsy, yes, but definitely gutsy.

She had apologized profusely to Suzuka afterward and the defeated look she wore as she mingled with her friends for the rest of the day was enough for just about anybody to feel sorry for her.

The tune picked up a few minutes later and he lifted their joined hands over her head so she could do the twirl. Their eyes met and she grimaced at his expectant look. He didn't say a word as he waited for what she was going to do next. He knew her wounds were bothering her more than she was letting on, so she caught him off-guard when she gave him a small smile. She tightly grasped his hand and - with understandable hesitation - turned to place all her weight on her bad foot.

She was signaling him that she was ready to turn.

Gutsy? She was bordering on being stupid for his liking.

Before she could take another step, he instantly dropped her hand. "I'm tired." He stepped back with no other explanations whatsoever, blatantly ignoring her questioning look. Without another word, he retreated to the bench he'd been spending most of his time on while the music kicked off again for the next dance. He watched at the corner of his eyes as she politely refused a fellow classmate and headed inside the school building, possibly to the clinic.

He supposed he had to admire her courage for at least trying. She had to be careful not to overdo it, though. One cannot achieve anything with only a strong will, after all.

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**A/N: **Once again, thank you so much for reading! Reviews are always welcome. =D

**nattie: **I love that scene, too! First time I got it I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to poke him while he's talking to the cats or else I wouldn't be able to read the rest of what he was going to say. ^^;


	6. Chapter 6: Misconceptions

**A/N: **I hope you guys won't mind that I won't be updating next week. ^^; Hehe! Happy holidays!

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 06: June 16 - Misconceptions

They were supposed to be observing the monkey section as Mr. Himuro had instructed, but Kei never did find any other animals as fascinating as felines. That was why he found himself detached from his fellow classmates - who had all gathered around the teacher to listen to his lectures about primates and their distinctive qualities - and silently observed the tigers.

Mr. Himuro had been giving him the evil eye ever since he strayed from the group, but Kei knew for a fact that he wouldn't waste his time herding him back towards the other students. Everybody knew that he didn't need to listen to his lectures in order to get a good grade.

He was aware that some were wondering why he even bothered attending the extra-curricular activities in the first place. They really should stop trying to come up with all sorts of ridiculous double meanings in everything he did. Contrary to popular belief, he was simpler than he looked. And for a guy whose hobbies include taking naps even in the most inappropriate times or places, did they really think he would have the patience or focus to come up with crazy plans to mess around with people's minds?

Heck no. The main reason he came was simple. He just didn't have anything better to do. The zoo, like the planetarium, was one of the places he loved to visit in Habataki city.

The other students wouldn't understand, of course, and some even resented him for it, saying that he was mocking them by showing off his genius. Even though they looked up to him with admiration in their eyes whenever he was near, he knew that as soon as he turned his back, they wouldn't think twice about calling him names or spreading dirty rumors about him.

The tiger glared at him from inside the cage, its large sharp teeth bared at him as it let out a soft growl. Kei continued to watch with ease, not at all bothered by the feline's obvious warning and the gentle vibrations that the growl caused inside his stomach. The tiger was too entrancing to watch. Looking at its piercing yellow eyes with slitted pupils made him feel as if he was being sized up from head to toe.

"Ehh... I guess it doesn't like us very much. Don't you think so, Hazuki-kun?"

His head whipped instantly at the voice and he found her face alarmingly too close to the animal's cage. The tiger's full attention was now focused on her and the way it crinkled its nose at the nosy girl showed its unreserved irritation. Its tail was flicking from left to right in a thumping manner, as if to say it was growing agitated. When she didn't stop glaring back at the tiger or moving some distance away from the cage, he decided to intervene. "Leave it alone. You're only annoying it more."

She looked up at him and shrugged. "You're one to talk. You were the one staring at it first."

He glanced at the animal only to see it head back to the inner most part of its cage, its interest probably lost at the two bickering humans. "Aren't you supposed to be listening to Mr. Himuro's lectures?" He asked, hoping she'd pick up the not-so subtle hint that he wanted her to go away and leave him be.

She frowned at him in reply and Kei realized that she wouldn't be leaving his company anytime soon. "Says someone who hasn't been participating in the class activity from the very start of the trip! What are you doing here alone anyway?" She peered over his shoulder as if making sure that the other students were still there. "And Mr. Himuro says that we're free to observe anything we want for the rest of the afternoon." She pulled a small notepad and a ballpen from her backpack and scribbled something. "We're supposed to choose which animal we'd like to make a report on. I just wanted you to know since you weren't listening at all to Mr. Himuro's instructions."

Kei sighed, not really in the mood to deal with her perky attitude at the moment. He could ask the teacher about the report later, so there really was no need for her to inform him. He scanned the area for something more interesting to look at instead.

"I'm gonna do a report about reptiles..." He could feel her huge smile even if he wasn't looking at her. "It'll make an interesting report if I compare them to Mr. Himuro, don't you think?" She giggled at her own joke, but when he only raised an eyebrow at her childish antics, she coughed loudly and set herself straight. "A-Anyway, I'll get started on my report now..."

She jogged towards the other students and left him to his business, not sparing him another glance. He returned his attention on the tiger and realized that the huge feline was not in the mood to entertain him any longer. Kei was about to leave to visit the lions when his eyes caught something that was plastered on one of the rails.

There was a note - a sticky, rectangular piece of colorful paper.

Curious, he plucked the tiny sheet of paper and read its contents. Written in clumsy handwriting were specifics on the report they were supposed to pass in three days. He considered it for a few more seconds before tucking it safely inside his pocket for later use.

For a girl who looked simple enough to understand, she could be so unpredictable sometimes.

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**A/N: **Urk... it's so short... Oh well. Again, thanks for reading. You guys have no idea how happy I am whenever I see the increasing number of hits this story is getting. Reviews, of course, are very much appreciated. But can someone out there please write a Hazuki-centric fanfic, too? I'm getting lonely... T_T


	7. Chapter 7: Piqued Interest

**A/N: **Hello, again! I know I said I won't be updating this week, but that was because I wasn't sure if I'm going to have access to the internet at my relative's house. So, anyway… here's a chapter!

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 07: July 23 - Piqued Interest

Kei's vision swam alarmingly, every detail blinking in and out focus. He felt very light-headed and he found himself struggling hopelessly to keep his heavy eyelids from dropping close. With a grunt, his arms reached forward blindly for anything to help him keep standing upright. Loud voices suddenly bombarded his ears and he inwardly cringed at the buzzing sounds that seemed to drill against his skull over and over again.

"Hazuki-kun!"

He was on the verge of closing his eyes when a hand was placed against his chest to steady him and an arm was wrapped around his waist in a sort of protective manner. His eyes snapped open at the unwelcome contact and he realized that he was face-to-face with a worried-looking woman whose name he couldn't recall properly at the moment.

"Are you all right, Hazuki-kun?" She asked in a gentle tone, her strong perfume drifting to his nose that it made him want to gag. He narrowed his brows at her not because of the concern displayed on her face, but because of their sort of intimate position. His shirt was completely unbuttoned and he didn't like the feeling of her hands on his bare skin.

But who was he to talk? He was the one leaning all his weight on her! He could tell that it was taking her a great deal of effort to stop themselves from falling in a tangle of limbs across the floor.

"Yeah, sorry." He murmured as he placed his hands on top of her shoulders and gently pushed her away. Laughter echoed all around the studio as the crew grinned widely at the pair of them. Realizing the situation, Kei pinched the bridge of his nose to chase off an incoming headache.

He had nearly fallen asleep while working... again.

"Don't worry, Megumi-chan..." One of the cameramen chuckled good-naturedly as Kei felt an arm snake around his shoulders. "He always gets like this when he doesn't get his usual afternoon coffee." He laughed directly at his ears and Kei had the urge to shove him away.

"Is he really all right?" He could feel the young model's concerned stare. "He looks kind of pale."

"Nah. He's just sleepy. We're actually very grateful you didn't let him fall on the floor." The cameraman squeezed his shoulder in a friendly gesture and Kei couldn't help but keep on cringing at the contact. "In fact, you should get used to this little quirk of his. In the past he-" Kei decided that he had enough and pried the older man's arm off him, drowning out the sounds of their chatter.

Feeling drunk even if he had never tried drinking anything with alcohol in his entire life, Kei headed towards the unoccupied chair near the back of the room. He dropped on it with a grunt, his eyes closing almost automatically as he leaned his head back.

Although he preferred a more peaceful place to sleep, the hustle and bustle going on around him were familiar to his ears. The continuous snapping of cameras, the bellows of orders from the crew, the intermittent clicking of the studio lights as they were switched on and off, and the low and steady grinding of all sorts of props and other contraptions created a unique music that he didn't mind that much anymore.

In fact, those sounds were putting him to sleep again.

He sighed heavily as he slapped both his cheeks in a lame attempt to wake himself up. If he went to sleep now, the photo shoot would take a longer time to finish than necessary. Coffee... That was what he needed right now. He needed the caffeine boost or else he would really consider sleeping on the chair or on top of one their tables. Where was his coffee? He'd specifically ordered his drink to be delivered around this time. What was taking so long?

And then, as if someone from above had heard his silent plea, one of the crews announced, "Finally! The drinks from ALUCARD are here."

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Here's your order." He opened an eye to peer at the small figure of a young woman at the door. He couldn't see her face clearly because the cameraman was slightly blocking his view. He immediately focused his attention on her hands and the cups she was carrying. He wanted his coffee. Now. He stood up from the chair and closed the distance between them, his gaze fixed firmly on his cup of mocha.

He wanted to just grab the coffee and leave, but as soon as he had taken a good look of her face, his legs stayed rooted on the spot. "Huh? You..."

Fate was laughing at him from above. He just knew it.

She was equally surprised. "Eh? Hazuki-kun! Why?"

Why? He could ask her the same thing. "Why what? I'm working."

He raised an eyebrow when her gaze drifted to his bare chest, but she quickly corrected herself and looked around the studio. "Ah, could it be a photo shoot for a magazine cover?" She stepped inside the spacious room to place the cups on one of their tables, gasping out loud when she almost tripped on one of the thick wires scattered across the floor.

As Kei watched her clumsy movements, it dawned on him the reason why it took so long for his coffee to be delivered. "Hn, something like that." He grabbed his mocha from the table and took a sip, savoring the bitter taste as the hot liquid trickled down his throat. "And you? Part-time job?"

A part of him was still dreading her reply even though it was obvious what her answer was going to be. "Yes." She smiled, looking strangely proud of herself. A part-time job as a waitress, huh? He frowned at the thought and at the same time was kind of impressed. Summer break had just started, but she chose to spend it by working. He wasn't sure if she was just in need of money or if she was a natural go-getter.

Why couldn't she have picked another job? They were already in the same class at school. Was he going to see more of her at work, too? Why did she keep on popping out of nowhere wherever he went? He knew it wasn't intentional on her part, but still...!

Then again, it wasn't that her presence bothered him that much. She wasn't really a nuisance, but he was seeing more and more of her lately that it was starting to grate his nerves. It was as if Fate was forcing the two of them together in every chance it got.

She must have noticed him frowning because she was now starting to give him a couple of nervous glances. "From now on, please don't forget to order from us, Coffee ALUCARD!" She forced a smile before hurriedly turning away to leave, but her hip bumped against one of the studio lights and she sheepishly apologized at the slightly irate cameraman.

He grew even more amused when she had unknowingly pulled one of the plugs. Most of the crew were now directing her a mixture of odd looks and annoyed frowns. She turned to him with eyes as wide as saucers. "Um... Good luck on your job then." Was his answer to her panicked stare and inwardly realized he had meant it fully.

She desperately needed all the luck she could get.

As she finally made her way out of the studio unscathed, his eyes briefly lit up at the thought. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad once he got used to her presence. If the coffee wouldn't be enough to keep him awake, her weird antics would probably make up for it.

The girl, after all, hadn't failed to surprise him yet.

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**A/N: **Guhhh… I'm dying to hurry up with these chapters. I want to get to the part where Kei is in a smiling state, but I keep on getting stuck on some drabbles... Thank you so much again for reading and reviewing, people! See you all next year!

**karen:** Ooh! A new reviewer! Thank you for your thoughts, dear. It's really nice to know that people like my story. XD

**darkness01: **Hey! I was wondering where you've been. Hehe! XD Thank you for enjoying, but I hope the story's slow pace isn't a turnoff… It's just that I hate having them falling all over each so fast.

**nattie: **Aww… thank you! I feel very flattered. XD But I really would like to have a fellow Hazuki Kei writer, though… T_T He truly is a fun character to explore.


	8. Chapter 8: Of Bombs and Fireworks

**A/N: **Happy New Year! XD Hooray for fireworks! Woohoo! And special thanks to **mhie890 **for introducing the manga Maid-sama to me. I'm really lovin' it, dear!

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 08: August 4 - Of Bombs and Fireworks

He had been known to have unpredictable mood swings, but it was rare for anyone to actually see him pick a fight with someone. Usually, he reserved his anger for anybody who deserved it or if the situation really called for it, but as he received the sympathetic glances and worried looks thrown his way by some random people who passed them by, he honestly didn't know how he should react.

He knew he should be angry. Hell, he should probably even be furious. If he was another person, he would have thrown a fit by now. Instead, he heaved a deep breath and counted from one to five.

"I'm really, really sorry, Hazuki-kun!"

He was aware that she was a very clumsy girl. Was it fair to get mad at someone whose clumsiness was already second-nature?

Her hand was trembling as she tried to wipe the front of his yukata with her floral handkerchief. The tangy smell of orange soda filled his nostrils as the liquid seeped into the cloth and stuck to his skin, making him grit his teeth together uneasily. Orange-colored droplets were hanging at the tips of his bangs and he combed his hair with his fingers to find it just as wet and sticky as his clothes.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. Tonight was going to be a real pain to move around.

"I'm sorry about this, Hazuki." The boy, whose name still escaped him, exclaimed as he slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "My sister can be such a klutz sometimes. She just can't help it, you know."

Her head whipped around so fast he thought her neck would snap. "What?" She was glaring at the boy as if she wanted to pour what remained of her soda on top of his head. "You're the one who keeps stealing my orange soda, for crying out loud! I already gave you money to buy your own drink, but you carelessly spent all of it on some stupid fishing game!"

"Oh come on, sis! You're just jealous because I'm better at it than you."

Not wanting to get mad but feeling the need to let out his frustrations, Kei glared at the both of them to shut up. His warning was ignored, however, as she was still trying her hardest to wipe the last traces of her soda on his yukata while she and her little brother alternated between apologizing and bickering about who was truly at fault.

Why in the world was he even dragged into this mess anyway? For one thing, these two troublemakers were the least people he expected to see in the Fireworks festival. As far as he knew, he had been enjoying his stroll along the beach while waiting for the fireworks to start when a cup of orange soda had appeared out of nowhere and exploded on his face. He didn't even recognize them until after the accident happened.

When he had taken a good look at his surroundings and at the two rowdy siblings, however, he got the answer to his question. If he were to guess, she and her brother had been at each other's throats since they arrived at the festival. Add anything that was accident-prone to an already agitated clumsy girl and it would only end in disaster in more ways than one. People had been clever enough to stay clear of them, but apparently he had been too oblivious to notice that he had walked right into dangerous grounds.

Perhaps... he was the one to be blamed for all of this, after all.

"Stop it." At his gruff command, the two siblings quieted instantly and he grasped her wrist to stop whatever else she was doing with his already ruined yukata.

He refused to let a clumsy girl and her sticky orange soda stop him from enjoying the fireworks.

Sighing heavily, he dropped her hand and turned to leave, but he hadn't gone too far when she appeared in front of him yet again. She was panting and catching her breath, but she was looking up at him with determination burning in her big brown eyes. "Hazuki-kun, please give me a chance to show you how sorry I really am." She clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture then looked frantically at the stalls as if searching for something. "Umm... D-Do you want some cotton candy? I'll buy you one if you want?"

His eyebrows shot upward, stunned that she wouldn't let the matter drop. He was aware of her uneasiness judging from the way she was fidgeting and how her fingers kept on playing with the frills of her blouse. Did he really look that annoyed that she would force herself like this?

"I'll pass." He didn't miss the disappointment in her eyes as he stepped forward to walk past her. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry. He just didn't want to risk the chance that she might goof up again and the soda wouldn't be the only thing sticking on his clothes.

But, seriously... Cotton candy? She was going to placate him with cotton candy? How old did she think he was? Six?

"How about a drink? I'll buy you any drink you want!"

He stopped and directed her a steely gaze, wordlessly drawing her attention to his wet hair and the large wet spots on his shoulders and the front of his yukata. An awkward silence followed before he blatantly added, "You already gave me one."

"Umm... right." She chuckled nervously, a furious blush tinting her cheeks. She nearly fumbled in her steps as he continued walking while she tried her hardest to match his longer strides, her courage faltering somewhat. He didn't want to deal with this. The show was going to start in less than an hour and if he didn't go to his usual spot soon, somebody might beat him to it.

The number of people loitering around the stalls was becoming much smaller as the minutes passed. Most of them were gathering at the shore to secure the best spots to watch. He hurried his steps, hoping that nobody would notice and take his spot - a rather secluded area situated at the eastern part of the shoreline. It didn't provide the best view of the fireworks, but it was good enough for him since he didn't want to mingle with the large crowd where he'd be too distracted by their noise and their momentary indifference to personal space.

To his disappointment, however, he had arrived too late and a couple was already occupying his spot. They were huddling in a corner of one of the large rocks shaded by the huge leaves of a slightly bent tree.

"Huh?"

Her confused exclamation diverted his annoyance at the two strangers. He glanced at his side and was curious to see her standing beside him and also staring at the couple. She was still tailing after him? In his hurry, he had completely forgotten about her. He really didn't expect that she would follow him this far.

For a moment, she studied her surroundings and a myriad of expressions flashed across her face as if she was trying to solve a difficult puzzle. Before long, her eyes widened in some sort of realization and she looked at him with a thoughtful frown. That caused him to narrow his eyebrows at her in return. What was that all about? Why was she giving him such a weird look?

Before he could voice out his question, an extremely wide smile tugged at the edge of her lips and she stared at him lovingly like a lost puppy deathly eager for attention. He barely had the chance to cover his ears when she suddenly let out a fit of ear-splitting giggles. He became even more bewildered when she placed both hands on her cheeks and jumped up and down like an extremely hyperactive kid.

Highly unsettled, Kei backed away a few steps.

"Oh, Hazuki-kun!" She cooed, but it sounded more like a screech. "This is sooo romantic! It's such a wonderful surprise! I feel so happy right now!" She burst into another bout of high-pitched giggles and he found himself lunging forward to wrap a hand over her mouth.

"What's wrong with you...?" What was happening? She struggled for a while before grabbing his arm and gesturing at him to look at what she was pointing. Hesitantly, he followed her gaze and he was greeted with... nothing. The couple from before had disappeared.

He looked behind him and was just in time to see the couple sharing an irritated look before throwing each of them a dirty glance. Soon their backs disappeared from the crowd, leaving both of them to share a rather uncomfortable silence.

Her muffled laughter brought him back to his senses and he immediately let go of her mouth. Her expression was filled with mischievous mirth, but as soon as she saw the strange way he was looking at her, she cleared her throat. "Well, I kind of figured you wanted to chase them away, so..." She trailed off and tore her gaze before she started fidgeting again. "You're going to watch the fireworks here, right?"

"Hn."

"It's the least I can do after that... Umm..." She pointed at his yukata and Kei was made even more aware of his clothes that seemed to have glued on his skin. "I'm really sorry, Hazuki-kun. I'll leave you now before I do anything stupid again."

After sparing him one last glance, away she went.

He wasn't used to this kind of treatment. Usually whenever somebody had accidentally crossed him, they would apologize and that would be it. No one would actually bother to show their sincerity or spend the effort to make it up to him.

The sky was filled with a loud boom and Kei looked up to see a dazzling display of colors decorating the once empty heavens. As he watched the spectacular dance of sparks littering across the horizon, he couldn't help but compare their erratic behavior to a certain girl's equally unpredictable personality.

_Fireworks, huh?_ Kei unconsciously brushed his locks with his hand and realized that the soda had dried. It took a few clumsy attempts to untangle his fingers from his hair covered with the make-shift gel that smelled of citrus fruit. _Or a walking time-bomb?_

_

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_**A/N:** Fireworks… I would have loved to describe them in detail but this chapter's not the right time for that. XD Kinda weird that I made Kei think that the heroine's a walking time-bomb when he and the other guys are the ones who keep on bombing her. XD I hate that part of the game... so many attention-starved guys to juggle! Kinda forces you to feel like a manwhore, right?

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm really glad that there are new reviewers! Hooray! Now if only I can persuade someone to write a fanfic... hehehe!

**Nattie: **Thank you! And I agree with you whole-heartedly, too. TMGS needs more love!

**Meresta: **Eeep! I'm very flattered. Thank you! And find it harder to write the heroine because she's way too flexible. I can only get a grasp of her personality by studying her lines in the game and by noting what the other characters say about her.


	9. Chapter 9: Dreams

**A/N:** Ugh... Fanfic dot net is being a pain this start of the year. The hit counter isn't working and remains at 0 even now. Thankfully, there are reviews. I thought you guys have abandoned me. T_T

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 09: September 4 - Dreams

Kei's dreams had always been pleasant. It was one of the reasons why he liked sleeping so much. He dreamed of a wide variety of things: cats, jewelries, planets, parks, faceless people, photo shoots, steamed bread, and so much more. Most of his dreams were downright ridiculous and he never placed otherworldly meanings in any of his strange dreams. There were even some rare times where he'd dream of unbelievably huge and nasty looking vegetables that spouted nonsense of being delicious. But even then, he always assumed they were all nice dreams because he always woke up feeling great and refreshed afterward.

So when a figure of a person with blazing yellow eyes and a reptilian face appeared in his mind's eye, he quickly brushed it off as another figment of his imagination. It was only a long while later when the figure didn't disappear that Kei realized that something was wrong.

The more he focused on it, the more it dawned on him that he was looking at something that was disturbingly familiar. This monster-like figure had spiky purple hair and its bright large eyes reflected light as if it was wearing glasses. It seemed to be angry at him judging by the way it was threatening him with the sharp end of its spear.

And... What in the world was it wearing? A neck-tie... and a suit?

It was too late before his brain managed to connect the dots as he was rudely jolted awake by a loud smack that almost sent his heart lurching from his throat. He looked up to see a grim-looking Mr. Himuro glaring down at him with the same ferocity as the monster with the blazing yellow eyes.

"Hazuki Kei." He drawled, his tone dangerously low. "Go stand in the hallway. Now."

He blinked a few times, still a bit dazed from being woken up from his sleep. He didn't want to infuriate Mr. Himuro even further so he bit his lip to stop the yawn that wanted to escape from his lips. Ignoring the incessant whispers that erupted from his classmates, he stood up and headed towards the door. To everyone's surprise, however, Mr. Himuro whirled around and slapped his stick against another desk.

All whispers instantly ceased and he tilted his head to look at the other unfortunate person who was under the intensity of the teacher's wrath.

She looked like as if she had stopped breathing altogether and she was as pale as a ghost. Something fell from her desk and Kei shifted his gaze on the floor to find the cause of her distress. It was a half-opened magazine.

"Kimura Akari." Mr. Himuro was in a dark mood and he didn't give the already mortified girl a break. Not that she deserved it, of course. Reading magazines while Mr. Himuro was teaching? Did she have some sort of a death wish? He conveniently ignored the fact that he was no better off than her. "Go stand in the hallway." The teacher bent down to pick up the magazine before tucking it firmly in his arm. "And consider this magazine confiscated."

And sure enough, the both of them were left standing in the hallway outside the classroom... with buckets half-full of water at each hand.

Kei struggled to keep his eyes open, the weight of the buckets not bothering him at all. After all, this wasn't new to him. He'd been ordered numerous times to stand in the hallway for sleeping in class during middle school, so he was sort of used to it by now. His previous teachers had been strict with him at first, but as time went by and they realized that his grades were still top-notch even though he sometimes slept or spaced out during lessons, they learned to just let him be.

When Mr. Himuro's voice boomed from the classroom like a commanding officer from a military defense unit, he cringed inwardly.

Then again, he'd never had a teacher like Mr. Himuro. He was the epitome of how a perfect professor should be like, so it made him wonder how long it would take for Mr. Himuro to get used to his sleeping habits. Or if he'd ever get used to it at all.

A loud sigh distracted him from his wayward thoughts and he turned to look at his companion. The frown on her lips was foreign to her face since she had always been too peppy in his opinion. She was staring at a particular spot on the window, her expression forlorn and distant. He would have contented himself by staring at the window, too, when she suddenly spoke.

"That was Natsumi's, you know..."

He raised a puzzled eyebrow. What was she talking about? Natsumi? He only knew a few girls with a name like that and the first person that came into his mind was an energetic light brown-haired girl who chattered endlessly on just about anything under the sun.

She lifted her chin to look straight into his eyes, and he recognized that guilty look she wore. "It took her a lot of trouble to get her hands on it and I carelessly let Mr. Himuro confiscate it." Her words came out as a whisper and he got the impression that she was talking more to herself than to him.

She was talking about the magazine? He didn't really care much about that sort of stuff, but being a model and working for an uncle who was a magazine editor, he was more than aware of which magazine was popular among teens. In fact, if he remembered correctly, he'd seen a magazine like that somewhere in the studio...

"Why were you reading it in class?" He asked after a while, curious at her audacity to risk Mr. Himuro's anger. She brought the trouble on herself, so she didn't have a valid reason to mope around about it. For example, he knew perfectly well that he was at fault for sleeping during the lessons. He took his punishment without complaining.

"I wasn't reading!" She protested almost too readily that it was painfully obvious that she really had been reading it. "I mean... sneaking glances at the pictures doesn't really count as reading, right?" She sounded more like she was convincing herself. Eventually, she let out an exasperated sigh when she couldn't handle being under his scrutinizing stare any longer. "Can you blame me? Summer break has just ended... I guess I'm still in vacation mode." She threw him a frown as if expecting him to understand. "What about you? Why were you sleeping in class?"

He was about to answer her when she suddenly shook her head as if she already knew what his reply was going to be. She held out her hand to stop him, completely forgetting that she was holding a bucket of water in each hand. She gasped when the water wobbled dangerously towards him and he barely had the chance to take a few steps back when some of the water splashed messily onto the floor.

"You..." He narrowed his eyes at her startled expression and the growing puddle. "...are really clumsy." The orange soda incident during the fireworks festival came back to haunt him with a vengeance. He inwardly berated himself for forgetting to be careful whenever she was around.

"S-Sorry." She murmured sheepishly and avoided looking at him altogether.

Half an hour passed in silence and he started to feel his arms straining from the weight of the bucket. His grip on the handles were slowly slackening as his drowsiness from before was beginning to catch up to him. His eyelids felt heavy like anvils and he caught himself nodding a few times.

"Hey, Hazuki-kun..."

His eyes snapped open at her voice, but it only lasted for a mere five seconds before they started drooping again.

"Hazuki-kun!" She called more insistently this time and he forced himself to look her way with a questioning grunt. He was too sleepy to care about how she was biting her lip to stop herself from chuckling. She was laughing at him? What was she being so happy about now? Wasn't she the least bit sleepy at all? He was fighting a losing battle against sleep and yet here she was acting as if she'd never been sleepy in her whole life.

Again, he completely ignored the fact that falling asleep while standing upright and carrying buckets of water in each hand wasn't normal at all.

"Hazuki-kun, what were you dreaming of?"

That effectively caught his attention. Shaking the last traces of sleep in his glassy eyes, he turned to look at her more fully, wordlessly asking to repeat her weird question again.

"I mean... You must have been dreaming before Mr. Himuro noticed you, right?" There was no malice in her voice, just plain curiosity. "You certainly look as if you were enjoying your sleep. What were you dreaming of?"

What was he dreaming of? Why would she ask that? Was she making fun of him or something?

The unanswered question hung over their heads like a thick blanket. When he didn't show any indication of giving her an answer, it compelled the girl to explain herself further. "Was I being too nosy? I just can't think of anything else to talk about..." Her eyes flickered towards his buckets. "You were falling asleep on your feet. Mr. Himuro won't be pleased if you spill those, you know."

Again, he was struck by her unnatural concern for him. When was the last time he'd met anyone - besides his parents and other relatives - who expressed genuine concern about what was going on with him? Although she was wary of him, he could not detect any real fear or hostility in her eyes.

She was treating him like a friend... or at least, how he thought friends were supposed to treat each other.

"Kittens..." He saw her face light up at his reply. She was looking expectantly at him as if he was telling her a very interesting story. "...playing chess."

"Chess...?" She stared at him for a whole minute before biting her lip, clearly suppressing a chuckle. "That must have been hilar-"

He gave her a glare.

"I-I mean... adorable!" As she fidgeted, the water in her buckets sloshed furiously from side to side. "You really like cats, don't you?" Even though she had nearly laughed at him a minute ago, she made it obvious that she didn't mean any harm. "I like cats, too, but I'm really more of a dog person. My parents won't let us have a pet in the house, though." And she continued to rattle on and on about pets and responsibilities. She didn't mind that he didn't contribute anything else to the conversation.

Curious of how she would react, he made up his mind to tell her about how he dreamed of Mr. Himuro with his yellow eyes and reptilian features.

As expected, she started to giggle like crazy. She even had to pinch her arms - while juggling with the buckets - a couple of times to stop herself from being so loud. She really was making a huge mess on the floor. Once she calmed down a bit, she then told him about how Natsumi had kept on planning elaborate pranks to catch Mr. Himuro off-guard. There was even a time when Natsumi had covered a hole on the street and hoped that he'd fall in it, but in the end, she foiled Natsumi's trap by accidentally falling into the hole. She didn't think she'd ever forget that day since she was the one who was ordered by Mr. Himuro to clean up Natsumi's mess afterward.

When the school bell rang and they were finally admitted into the classroom, Kei felt surprisingly tired but strangely in a better mood. He'd never been stuck so long with someone who chattered non-stop about peculiar things with such high enthusiasm. His eardrums had taken quite a beating.

And yet, as he threw a brief glance her way and was met by a knowing smile that was sneakily directed at the oblivious Mr. Himuro, he found himself not minding it at all.

Well, at least not that much.

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**A/N:** Yes, the heroine's just a normal girl who gets scolded for misbehaving every now and then. =P Oh and am I the only one who thinks that she's a little wacky? Some of the choices you can make her say in the game are hilarious. And, in case you're wondering, the Natsumi and Himuro prank scene really did happen in the game. Himurocchi was sooo cute there! XD

Oh and about that punishment thing... I have no idea if in Japan they still make students stand in the hallway while holding buckets of water, so please do forgive me if I made a mistake.

Again, thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'll give a cookie to anyone who can guess what the next chapter's going to be! =P Hint: Look at the dates. XD

**darkness01: **Ack... I was hoping they'd get rid of it in the 2nd game. Hahaha! Oh well. And thank you very much for liking the heroine! It's actually a huge relief. That last thing I want to do is to make the heroine unbearable. XD

**nattie: **I know right? Why did they have to force a day to pass with just one phone call? O_o Oh and about the heroine being good at swimming, skating, or skiing, it really depends on how high you've raised your fitness stat. If it's at 0 and you say that you're good at it, you're just gonna end up falling flat on your face and your date's gonna get mad at you. XD But of course, the heroine here's gonna be good at those since 150 fitness is a requirement to end up with Kei-tama. =P


	10. Chapter 10: Unwanted Presents

**A/N:** Hello, peeps! Since school has started again, updates won't be every 4 days anymore. Instead, it'll be every Monday night, so I'll have the weekend to work on the drabbles. Anyway, on with the story!

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 10: October 16 - Unwanted Presents

Kei glared hard at the innocent-looking and brightly-colored box sitting at the center of his locker, wishing inwardly that it was blessed with a mouth so that it could tell him what the heck was going on in this weird day.

It wasn't that he was taken aback at the idea that there were still people who gave him gifts at school. After all, he wasn't totally oblivious of his new fan club and how it was slowly growing in numbers as the months passed - he had enough experience during middle school to know how these fan girls worked. He just couldn't figure out the reason why today, of all days, they decided to bombard him with their trivial display of affections.

It all started this morning when he had arrived at the school gates and had met a rather strange sight. He wasn't the type to notice or care about other people's business, but the group of girls lounging near the entrance had been unusually loud and distracting that he couldn't help but spare them a glance. In return, they had greeted him with toothy grins and overly-friendly waves. Of course, as his usual response, he didn't dwell on their antics too much and had completely forgotten about it until after he had arrived at the classroom.

His desk had been filled with gifts of all shapes and sizes - some were even glittering in the sunlight. During that time, there were only a handful of students who were present in the classroom, and for some reason, they - especially the guys - had avoided his questioning stare. In the end, he had been left to wonder who the anonymous gifts were from and why they had been piled on his desk. It didn't help that some of the girls he had passed in the hallways had given him intense but nervous looks every now and then.

And, as if those gifts weren't enough, he had found another pile of them at the school's rooftop during lunch break. They had been carefully placed at the exact shaded spot where he usually slept in.

Honestly, girls could get really creepy when they wanted to be.

Kei reached forward to grab the small box from his locker, tilting it here and there as he studied it from every angle. There was no name written on it just like all the other gifts he had received a few hours ago. There was also a bunch of letters tucked safely at the back of the gift, a long red ribbon tying them securely together. Unfortunately, the letters were also vague since there was only his name surrounded with kiss marks and red hearts at the back of the envelopes.

What was the occasion? Christmas was still a few weeks away and Valentine's Day wouldn't be happening until next year. Was it some sort of activity from the fan club? 'Shower Hazuki Kei with Gifts for No Apparent Reason' day? He certainly wouldn't put it past them to celebrate something as ridiculous as that. He'd seen and experienced worse in middle school, after all.

He sighed before tossing the gift and letters into a sack which he had picked off from somewhere. What was he going to do with the gifts? Should he open them? He didn't want them littering his room, but it would be a waste to just throw them away.

Maybe he could give them to the crew at the studio as an early Christmas present? He didn't think they would be disappointed since he already had a pretty good idea of what was inside these gifts. The girls had no way of knowing what he really liked - they were too intimidated to ask him face-to-face, so the interviews of him in the magazines would have been their only basis for the gifts. The crew was the ones supplying most of the answers to his interviews, so the gifts would definitely be perfect for them.

Now if only he could figure out why they were giving him gifts in the first place.

Classes ended a few hours later and everybody was packing up to go home. He was just about to leave when he was stopped by someone outside the classroom. Her smile was the same as always, but her hands were suspiciously behind her back as if she was hiding something from him.

"Hazuki-kun!" She exclaimed. She was fidgeting nervously, but the hint of excitement in her eyes was unmistakable. Why was she acting strange like the rest of the other girls? She wasn't part of the fan club, was she? Or was there really something special going on that he had missed? She stopped and looked on in awe as she eyed the bulging sack he'd been carrying on his shoulder. "Wow. You sure have gotten so much presents today."

Fed up for being left in the dark, he blurted out the question that had been nagging at his head for the rest of the day. "...Why?"

The smile was wiped from her lips and she considered him with a confused stare. "Why what?" She brought her hands in front of her and he was surprised to find a wrapped box with a birthday card pinned beside a big white ribbon. "Today's your birthday, right?" She smiled brightly again as she handed him the gift.

Birthday? His? His eyes widened at the realization. "...Yeah." That would likely explain the mysterious gifts. He'd completely forgotten that today was his birthday. Why didn't the other girls say anything about it? Or at least gave him a hint? Remembering the stack of letters he had stashed along with the other gifts, he pulled one out and began to read it.

And sure enough, there it was. Written at the very top of the paper was 'Happy Birthday, Hazuki-kun!' in big colorful letters. A doodle of what he assumed was his face was drawn beside the little pink hearts.

He snorted in amusement. Today was his birthday and yet they were the ones who were celebrating it. He really didn't know what to make of that.

Not bothering to read the rest of the letter's contents, he folded it and threw it back into the sack. He felt her eyes watching his every move and that caused him to look back at her. When she still continued to stare at him with an eager expression as if waiting for something else to happen, he frowned.

What more did she want? Her gaze was switching back and forth from his face and her present, which he had been holding the entire time. "Hey, open it!" She finally cried out.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to leave unless he opened the gift, he dropped the sack of gifts on the floor and proceeded to tear the wrapper off the box. In a way, he was a bit curious about what she had gotten for him. It didn't look like she was a fan girl because she was the only one who dared to hand him her present herself, so her choice of gift would probably be different from all the others.

But then again, she also liked reading those magazines... and he doubted she knew anything about him at all.

Once he had taken a good look at what was inside, however, he was stunned speechless. She had given him a box of jigsaw puzzle, but not just any jigsaw puzzle, it had a drawing of two adorable cats wrestling in a pretty meadow filled with butterflies and flowers.

"Do you like it?" She asked curiously. "I remembered how much you like cats, but I didn't think you'll like it if I bought you a pink stuffed toy. The other kitty-themed gifts that I could find were either too girly or too cute. The puzzle one seemed like a pretty good idea since you seem to like that sort of stuff." She winked at him playfully. "Kittens playing chess, right?"

She still remembered the dream he had told her about nearly a month ago? He honestly didn't know what to say. Her gift was a pleasant surprise indeed. It had been a while since he'd gotten his hands on a jigsaw puzzle and he could feel his fingers itching to get started on it. "...Thank you." He flashed her a small grateful smile. For once, his birthday didn't turn out to be entirely forgettable since he actually got something he truly wanted.

Why would she bother on spending the effort to find him a gift, though? Were they friends? Did she really consider him as her friend? What a weird girl...

"Great!" She chuckled heartily after letting out a sigh of relief. "For a while there I thought you'd be..." She trailed off and her happy expression slowly disappeared from her face. Her sudden change in mood grabbed his attention and he followed her gaze, turning around to look behind him. A group of girls scampered down the hallway when they realized that he had seen them, but he still managed to catch the dagger-like glares those girls had thrown at her direction.

Even someone as indifferent as him would know what those looks had meant. He returned his attention to the girl before him, wanting to know how she would react. Would she get scared? Would she stop trying to be friendly towards him now?

"I think I made them mad..." He did not expect the way she only blinked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe you should open up their gifts, too?"

He stared at the bag bulging with dozens of gifts lying ignored at his feet. He didn't need to think twice. "No."

"Oh, okay." She sounded as if she wanted him to open the gifts. She even looked sort of interested.

An idea crossed his mind. Tucking the jigsaw puzzle safely inside his leather bag, he lifted the sack and opened it to let her get a closer look. "Do you want one?" He wanted to say that she could have all of them just to get the load off his hands, but he didn't think she'd have any real use of what was inside the presents.

She stared at him as if he'd gone mad. "...Are you serious?"

He paused. She didn't sound pleased.

"You can't do that, Hazuki-kun..." She was lecturing him? "It's common courtesy to accept gifts that were given to you." She was shaking her head as if he had done something unforgivable. "What will the girls think if they see you giving their gifts away?"

Even though she'd been glared at by his fan girls, she was still taking their side? No, she wasn't taking anyone's side. She was just being fair and that impressed him more than he was willing to admit.

"These are mine now..." Too bad, he wasn't ready to back down yet. "...and I want to give you one, so you should accept it. Like you said, isn't that common courtesy?"

A muttered 'Oh' was all she could manage as she stared at him with a comical expression. Somehow, he found himself enjoying this light teasing. Before he could persuade her even further, she jerked back a few steps and glanced desperately at her watch. "W-Well, will you look at the time? I'd better go home now. See you, Hazuki-kun!"

As she ran down the hallway, he briefly noted that she was faster than any of the girls in his fan club. His amusement didn't last long, however, when he realized that he still had a sack of unwanted presents to take care of.

Perhaps he really should just give the gifts to the crew at the studio, after all.

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**A/N:** I've always imagined Kei's fan girls to be scaredy-cats that's why you don't see any of them in the game. And Kei really does tease the heroine from time to time, so I decided to incorporate it in the early stages of their relationship. Kei's sense of humor is weird... I find myself wondering if he's really joking or not. XD

**Meresta: **Hehehe! Thank you! =D I'm very happy that you find the chapters enjoyable! The only reason why there's no attraction between the two of them is because I'm writing in Kei's POV. ^^; The heroine is no way a perfect girl, and considering Kei's personality it will take a long while before he notices her in 'that' way. Oh and I don't find it frustrating at all. XD If I write in the heroine's POV, the attraction (physical attraction only because she's way too dense) will definitely be there because it'll be extremely weird and unrealistic if she won't at least recognize Kei's charms. And of course there will be kisses (Yes, there's more than one). This story isn't rated T for nothing (No perverted thoughts, please. =P).


	11. Chapter 11: Disappointments

**A/N: **The 1st patch of TMGS2 is now out! So head on over at gokusaishiki and be sure to give a big thanks to the wonderful people who made it all possible! XD

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 11: October 28 - Disappointments

"Well, I have to go. Bye, dad."

With a flick of his wrist, Kei's cell phone flipped closed. His thumb absently rubbed the smooth surface of the cover, his eyes staring intently at the tiny screen's bright light and the steady blinking of its digital clock. He wasn't sure how long he continued to stare at his cell phone, but when he felt the tips of his fingers throb painfully for gripping the phone too tight, he let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and tucked his cell phone inside his pocket.

He walked towards the edge of the school's rooftop and looked down at the dozens of students milling about in the school grounds. They were all busy setting up for the upcoming school festival. He knew he should be downstairs and help out with his class' preparations and get the troublesome tasks over and done with, but he didn't feel like participating today.

It was as if there was an incredibly heavy load resting on top of his shoulders and it was slowing him down to the point that he felt strangely exhausted. He couldn't focus no matter how hard he tried because his thoughts kept on drifting further and further away.

He set his gaze on the view of the hundreds of houses and buildings of the city overlooking the sea, savoring the cool autumn breeze as it touched his cheeks and ruffled his hair. The clouds continued their lazy trek across the sky and occasionally brushed against the sun's path as it hovered with an unrelenting sense of duty.

The peaceful weather was undeniably serene and created the perfect atmosphere for him to fall asleep. But as he continued to stare at the distant horizon, the usual drowsiness he always felt never came to help him get rid of his unwanted thoughts.

His hands clenched into fists, his annoyance at himself growing as his mind replayed his dad's words once more in his ears. He had told him that they wouldn't be able to visit him again this year. His dad got his hands full on some major issues that were plaguing the company, and his mom's job was reaching its critical point now that the year was coming to an end.

Shouldn't he be used to this by now? He wasn't a child any longer and he understood very well that they had important matters to take care of. It had always been like this ever since he could remember, so why was it that every time this happened, he couldn't stop the feeling of disappointment from invading his thoughts?

Was it because he always expected that things would turn out differently every year? That he would be able to spend this year's Christmas not with his other relatives but with both his parents? But who was he kidding? His birthday wasn't even all that important to them, so why should Christmas or any other holidays be worth noting?

"Hazuki-kun?"

He didn't need to turn around to know who it was that called his name. He couldn't even force himself to be surprised anymore. After all, she had a strange habit of turning up in the most unexpected places. Sometimes he even wondered if she was keeping an eye on him just for kicks. "...Ah, it's you..." He drawled, his voice supporting his lack of interest.

He heard her footsteps coming closer until it stopped a few distance beside him. "That was your father?" He watched at the corner of his eyes as she leaned forward to place both her arms on top of the marbled parapet, a solemn look displayed on her face. When a cool breeze blew past them, she immediately rubbed her hands over her arms and hugged herself instead.

"...You heard it?" How long had she been listening to the conversation? Apparently, he had been so focused on the call that he'd failed to notice her presence, which should have been easy considering how loud and clumsy she was. Did she really hear all of it?

Her back stiffened at his slightly accusatory tone. "Sorry..."

He shrugged in response, realizing that he didn't really mind it as much. He was just thankful that she decided not to barge in at the middle of the conversation with his dad. He hoped that she had the sense not to ask him about his issues with his parents. He wasn't in the mood to answer any questions and he definitely didn't appreciate anyone who tried to get too nosy about his personal matters.

"But Hazuki-kun, your image is different when you talk to your family."

He sighed. Somehow, he had expected that she would bring it up anyway. She really was too nosy for her own good. But then again, it wasn't as if she was directly asking him what the problem was. She was just making an observation. "...Really?"

"Yeah, somehow you gave out a "good kid" vibe which I didn't expect from you..."

...And a very straightforward observation, too. Really, her bluntness never ceased to surprise him.

Kei stared at her for a while, noting her almost innocent expression as she continued to study him with an unwavering interest. She truly was a strange girl. Nobody in school would try to talk to him the way she was talking to him now. He wasn't entirely unaware of how the other students thought of him as a snobbish jerk, but she didn't seem to be affected by any of that at all. In fact, it even spurred her to come and talk to him whenever she got the chance.

He wondered if she just didn't care or she was just plain naive.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the usual cheerful glint in her eyes disappeared completely and was replaced with something that he couldn't put a finger on. He narrowed his eyebrows at her in an attempt to know what was going through her head, but was taken aback at what he saw. Her probing look struck him so deeply that he felt as if she was seeing right through him and was reading his mind.

"And you looked a bit lonely too..."

Why was she looking at him with such... gentleness? Or was that... pity?

His chest tightened as if something was squeezing his lungs and the only way to make it feel better was to hide from her searching look. He forced his mouth to protest, wanting nothing more than to stop her from reading him like an open book any further. "...You probably just imagined that." Desperately, he wracked his brain for something that would distract the incomprehensible girl from the conversation. "...Come on, let's go. There are a lot of things to do for the Culture Festival, right?"

He immediately tore his gaze from hers, the mixture of so many confusing emotions churning inside his gut made him sick and greatly uncomfortable. He wasn't even sure if the disappointing phone call from his dad was the only reason for his unease or if there was something much more to it.

He felt horribly vulnerable and he hated it more than anything.

"Hm... Yeah." Her reply was more of a whisper, as if she still wanted to say something else but thought better of it. He was forcing himself too hard to pretend that everything was all right and he knew very well that she wasn't fooled. His mood darkened considerably and even though he wanted to lash out at her to stop trying to pretend that she understood him, he couldn't ignore her heartfelt concern and how she continued to be nice to him at school and at work over the last few months.

But why...? Why was she so nice to him?

To his relief, however, she turned around and headed towards the door, her steps slow and slightly rigid. Instead of following her, his gaze sought the comfort of the sea, hoping that the peaceful scene would calm his already agitated nerves. He didn't think he could stop himself from doing something reckless if she tried to look at him that way again.

He didn't want anybody's pity, especially hers. He didn't need the help of a stranger who kept on trying to push her way into his solitude that took him pains to get used to.

But in the end, Fate had other plans.

"Hazuki-kun..." Her voice was somehow being carried away by the wind, but he could still hear her as clearly as if she was shouting directly in his ears. "Would you like to go to the forest park with me next week? The autumn leaves will help ease your worries away."

She was smiling at him. No. She was beaming at him with that unexplainable burst of energy that he was still struggling to understand. She was always so thoughtful, always ready to lend him a helping hand whenever he needed it. He never asked for it nor did he do anything to give her that impression. Why was it that she was still reaching out to him without second thoughts?

At that very moment, something inside of him snapped.

Everything happened so fast that the only thing that he could clearly remember was her frightened eyes as he stalked towards her and pinned her against the wall, his hands at each side of her face to prevent her from leaving. His emotions were raging against his chest, but his confusion and anger towards his parents and the baffling girl clouded his thoughts the most.

"Why?" What did she want? Why did she keep on trying to be close to him? Why would a stranger like her care more about him than his own family?

She was pushing herself more firmly against the wall, her usually vibrant brown eyes filled with worry. "H-Hazuki-kun...?"

"Why?" He repeated, ignoring the feeling of guilt that was tugging insistently at the back of his mind. She was breathing hard and a trembling hand clenched the front of her blouse, her confusion over what was happening causing her to panic. When she still didn't respond at his warning glare, he decided to goad her into answering.

"Is it because you want something from me?" All the people he'd met who tried to get close to him wanted something from him in one way or another. Why would she be any different? He didn't know her at all. The more his mind was filled with her malicious intentions, the nastier his mood became.

Was she the same as the other girls who wanted to gain his affections by pretending to be his friend? He had met a fair share of girls both in school and at work who were all like that and he hated those kinds of girls the most. How was he to know if she was any different?

He didn't know anything about her at all.

Kei leaned dangerously close... so close that he could feel her ragged breath fanning against his chin. "Do you... like me?"

Apparently, that question was all he needed to get a reaction from her. She didn't allow him to get any closer as she placed both hands on his chest, pushing him back with a strength he didn't know she had. As he stumbled backwards, he expected her to be furious at him, but when she only stared at him again with the same probing look she'd given him a while ago, his annoyance grew even worse.

"I'm sorry, Hazuki." Judging by the edge in her voice and how she had dropped the suffix from his name, she was anything but sorry. Her mouth remained open to say something else, but she hesitated and turned away. "I'm going back to class now."

Kei watched her shaking fingers fumble at the doorknob, his anger still in place no matter how hard he tried to chase it away. She didn't even try to defend herself from his baseless accusations. Did that mean that it was all true? That she really was the same as all the other girls? His stomach felt heavier than before and he couldn't even deny his disappointment at the realization that she wasn't as different as he'd thought her to be.

"I just feel like... I know you from somewhere."

His heart pounded roughly in his ears as her words made him jerk back in shock. She turned to look at him slowly, giving him a small grin even though he could plainly see how his hurtful actions had affected her.

"I don't know why, but it's the same feeling I get as if I've finally met a long lost friend."

Before he could find the right words to say, she was long gone, leaving him to deal with his guilt and the temptation to punch himself repeatedly for being such a fool...

...and for forgetting that he once had a childhood friend.

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**A/N:** Ah... Kei's defense mechanisms had kicked in and caused this chapter not to end well for those two. But enough angst! Who here started playing TMGS2? XD I keep on telling myself to wait until the 2nd patch is released, but I just... can't... help... it! I'm starting to have a soft spot for Shiba and Hikami. Saeki's okay (his high-pitched "Oh!" cracks me up every time! XD), but Kei's still irreplaceable. Oh and I finally understand why a lot of girls are gaga over Waka-sama. He's really adorable! XD He's so different from Himurocchi! ^^; I am now a Waka-sensei fan, too!

**Meresta: **Thank you again, dear! Your reviews always leave a warm and pleasant feeling. And nah, I won't be writing any heroine POVs… too troublesome. ^^; Yeah! I want those gifts, too!

**Nattie: **You think these fan girls really do exist in Japan? Shoujo manga's are so full of them… Hazuki-kun's an unpredictable joker… I mean… when you date him in the museum and tell him that he looks like a primitive man, he'll be happy about that. I really dunno if he's teasing or he's just weird.

Anyway, thank you again for all the wonderful support! You guys are the best!


	12. Chapter 12: Mr Sprout

**A/N: **You know what? I wish TMGS1 has a love mode… *sighs*

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 12: November 17 - Mr. Sprout

After what had happened between the two of them at the school's rooftop, Kei pretty much expected that she wouldn't dare approach or talk to him again. Therefore, it was understandable that when he had received a call from her last week about meeting up with her at the forest park today, he had agreed with her in astonishment.

Now, he was nearly at the park's gates, absently wondering why she would want to invite him, of all people, to spend the whole day with her watching the autumn leaves.

He found her sitting on top of the rails, her head bowed low as she watched her shoes dangle languidly a few inches above the stone pathway. She must have been waiting for quite a while judging by how she seemed to stare into nothingness with a slight frown marring her distant expression.

His gaze softened. Looking at her like this reminded Kei of a child who was bored out of her wits for being stuck at the same place for too long. Her peppy and outgoing personality never did allow her to remain idle. Somehow, he would always see her on the move in one way or another.

Forcing his worries at the back of his mind, he closed the distance between them, the crackling of leaves under his shoes alerting her of his presence. "Oh, Hazuki-kun..." She murmured softly, as if she was still shaking herself from her daydreams.

"Have you been waiting long?" He didn't really need to ask that since he was perfectly aware that he was fifteen minutes late. He just needed something to say as a way of greeting.

She shook her head and jumped off the rail, her hands reaching up to slip her fingers around the straps of her small backpack. "Come on. Let's go inside and find a good spot."

They traveled in silence along the brick road, the unspoken matter about the incident at the school's rooftop hovering in the air and impatiently waiting to be brought up. He could feel the tension trailing after them and it was so thick that it was almost tangible. Even her uncharacteristic timidness made him put a safe distance between the two of them just to be on the safe side.

Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored the uncomfortable atmosphere and focused on the beautiful autumn leaves instead, but they both knew that this issue would only go away if he could just take that one step forward and apologize.

It really had been his fault... He had carelessly let that day's disappointment with his parents go over his head and he had used her as his scapegoat. Taking out his frustrations on her had been easy for him, too, since her bizarre kindness had been muddling his thoughts for quite some time. She was just so different... and her reason for caring about him made him feel even worse.

She suddenly stopped walking and he almost bumped against her back for not paying attention. "Hazuki-kun? Is this spot all right with you?"

It took a minute for the question to register inside his mind before his green eyes darted towards his surroundings. They had stopped at one of the benches at the side of the brick road, their spot providing an ample distance away from the other visitors and also from prying ears. They had a nice view of the trees, too, and Kei felt the familiar lull of sleep creeping silently at the back of his mind as he was once again reminded of the reason why he loved the park so much.

Autumn truly was the best season to admire the beauty of the park as it was decorated with the multi-colored leaves that continued to rain from the branches of the surrounding trees. The sun bathed everything in a warm and gentle light that the whole place seemed to glow majestically. The scene immediately helped him ease his nerves and lift his mood. Even his companion felt increasingly better after being overwhelmed by the soothing environment, her shoulders slackening and a lazy smile ghosting over her lips.

She seemed to have forgotten that she was mad at him as she motioned for him to sit down on the bench, her hands busy fishing out something inside her backpack. "I made lunch for you today!" She presented him an orange bento and a pair of chopsticks. "It's packed with the flavors of fall season!"

She seemed so proud that Kei didn't have the heart to ask her why she took the effort to make something for him when they were supposed to be discussing the whole rooftop incident. Wasn't she supposed to be yelling at him for being a jerk? Could it be that she had grown tired of waiting for his apology?

He hesitantly opened the lid. Even though the mixture of delicious scents assaulted his nose and tempted his mouth to water, the sight of the carefully prepared food made him more uncomfortable. He didn't know what she was capable of and he knew that she was craftier than she looked. What if there was something mixed with the food that would wreak havoc in his stomach? For all he knew, this was all just an elaborate trap to get revenge.

Still, he deserved her punishment, didn't he? If he couldn't bring himself to apologize properly then the least he could do was to accept whatever it was that she had planned for him like a real man.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, he plucked a piece of meat from the box and put it inside his mouth.

"So... How does it taste?"

He chewed the meat slowly, absently testing if there was anything strange with the taste. It certainly didn't taste funny, but it wasn't delicious either. "...Well." He trailed off, wondering how he should put it.

As expected, she wasn't happy with his vague answer. "What's that supposed to mean...?" She glanced at her own bento and frowned as if looking at the food hard enough would tell her what she had done wrong. "If it's not good, then you don't have to eat it!"

He blinked, realizing that she wasn't as proud as she appeared to be in her cooking skills. "I didn't say it was bad."

"...Be honest with me." The look she gave him was piercing and he could see her tension returning from the way her shoulders grew rigid again.

Why would she care about his opinion? Did it really matter if he found her food delicious or not? He couldn't come up with a word that could describe the unique flavor, but it wasn't bad because his taste buds weren't complaining. "...It's tasty."

The smile she wore was brighter than he'd seen in days. "I'm glad you like it."

She didn't bother him anymore and focused on her own lunch instead. The next few minutes were spent in a companionable silence, the snapping of chopsticks and their relatively quiet munching were the only sounds that reached his ears. Again, his confusion over the day's events began to plague his thoughts. How come she hadn't started being furious at him yet? Was it because she was hungry and wanted to eat first?

He sneaked a glance at his companion and found her staring at the trees and very much enjoying her meal. Could it be that she had completely forgotten all about it? So he'd been worried over nothing all along? But that couldn't have been it because the following days after the incident, her usual treatment of him at school and at work had changed.

Whenever she greeted everyone 'good morning' every time class started, she used to make sure that their eyes would meet to let him know that she was greeting him, too. She used to flash him a smile whenever he was at the hallway or whenever he was sensible enough to notice her hanging out with her friends. She used to keep up with her invitations to walk home together even though she always ended up going alone anyway. At work, she used to ask if she had brewed his coffee just right.

After their spat, however, she refused to even turn her face at his direction whenever she greeted the class. She was also either too busy laughing and chatting with her friends to notice him walking down the hallway. It had been days since he last saw a trace of her at the gates. And every time he visited the cafe, his orders were taken by a different waitress.

Her actions pretty much proved that she was still harboring ill feelings. So why was it that she was now sitting beside him and enjoying herself as if he hadn't wronged her at all?

Beyond irritated at her confusing personality, he released his annoyance by picking the nasty-looking sprouts and tucking them at one corner of the box where they wouldn't get in his way. Somehow, the vegetable reminded him of his companion and how she'd always leave a bitter taste in his mouth whenever she did something to surprise him and leave his thoughts in complete disarray.

"Hmm...?" He was so focused on the task that he didn't sense her leaning forward to watch him meticulously pluck the vegetable one by one. "Why are you setting the sprouts aside?"

"I'm not." Was his immediate reply. He shifted his position away from her curious gaze, not liking the thought that she had been watching him pick at his food.

"Ah, so you dislike sprouts, huh? That's no good. You have to eat them." She insisted and even made a show of eating her own set of sprouts.

"I don't need them." His lips were in a grim line as he contemplated the deeper meaning of her words, which she was totally unaware of. Did he need her constant fussing over him? Did he need her messing around with his head?

"It'll be a waste!" She protested, ignoring his cold indifference. "Besides, sprouts are good for you, you know." She shoved another batch of sprouts in her mouth, obviously wanting to tempt him to try some himself.

Why was she forcing him to eat the damn vegetable? They were just sprouts. It wasn't as if he was going to suffer some sort of incurable sickness for not eating them. "Then I'll give them to you." At the back of his mind, he reasoned out that he would also be perfectly fine on his own without her presence or her friendship.

Sure, it had been a difficult experience being alone, but he was doing fine, wasn't he?

She was staring at him in exasperation, but the stubborn expression she was wearing clearly shouted that she wasn't giving up anytime soon. He narrowed his eyebrows at her, sensing the gears inside her head turning as if she was concocting a plan. His curiosity won him over and he blurted out the question before he could stop himself. "What is it?"

"...Oh, it's nothing..." She shrugged both her shoulders, her disappointment rolling off her in waves. "I was just thinking that Mr. Sprout looks a little sad..."

His chopsticks almost slipped from his fingers as he nearly choked at the chunk of rice he was in the middle of swallowing. He stared long and hard at her, his eyes beginning to sting for refusing to blink even once. "...Mr. Sprout?" He asked carefully, wanting to know if he had heard her right.

She was naming vegetables now? Did she honestly believe that this... Mr. Sprout... would look delicious after being baptized with a name and given a gender?

He wasn't sure if she was purposely ignoring his pointed glare or if she was just naturally clueless. "Mr. Sprout wanted to hear you say he tasted delicious, so he grew up as fast as he could just for today..." She emphasized her words by gesturing with her hands, like a mother would do to a toddler who refused to eat his peas.

Seriously, what in the world was going on inside that head of hers? And why was she even treating him like a kid?

He stopped, suddenly at a loss for words as the meaning behind his actions hit him hard like a ton of bricks. She was treating him like a child... because he really had been acting like one. And it wasn't just because he didn't want to eat the sprouts. He had been running away from the idea of allowing her - or anyone - to get closer to him in fear of being hurt. Solitude was easier to deal with than forging bonds, which - even if severed - would forever remain to remind him of what had been lost.

And she...

She hadn't successfully made a dent on his carefully built walls just yet, but he swore that with a little more time and effort, she'd be able to force her way through. He was afraid that if he took the gamble to let her inside, she would get up and leave him in the end just like the rest of the people who got tired of him after knowing the kind of person that he was.

Could he take that risk? Was he willing to take that risk? ...With her?

He still didn't know the answer to that. The sudden revelation was still too much for him to bear and decide on in one day. For now, he would have to test the waters first... and he decided to do that by starting with her sprouts. "...I'll eat them."

She grinned from ear-to-ear as if she'd successfully accomplished a tough mission. The tense atmosphere was lifted and she took advantage of it by talking her head off. This time, he allowed her to talk to her heart's content, his thoughts flying elsewhere. He wasn't done. He still wanted to apologize. That was part of the reason why he had accepted meeting with her in the first place.

And yet, he didn't know where to start.

He wasn't used to this sort of thing and conveying his feelings was not his forte. It was as if both his mind and his mouth were forever waging pointless battles against each other and would rather be cut off from his body than cooperate together. He might as well just stick his foot inside his mouth and hope that she would take that as the reason why it was so difficult for him to say what he wanted to say. "Look..." He started, his grip on his chopsticks unconsciously tightening. "I'm..."

He was surprised when she cut him off with a nervous but knowing smile. "See, Hazuki-kun?" She was fidgeting in that strange way she always did whenever she was bothered by something and wasn't sure how to proceed. "I told you the autumn leaves will help ease your worries away..."

Only then did it dawn on him that the whole point of their meeting wasn't because she wanted to confront him about the rooftop incident, but because she wanted him to forget about what had happened so they could return to how they were before. She didn't need to hear him apologize. For her, the fact that he had agreed to spend some time with her today - a decision that he knew he wouldn't have done for just any other girl - was already enough.

_And this..._ He glanced down at the almost empty bento, finally getting what it all meant. This was her way of making him realize that he had been forgiven.

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**A/N:** Who would have thought that Mr. Sprout will actually get a significant role in this story? Wahaha! XD And no they're not officially friends yet. Just like in the game, you'll know for sure if Kei thinks of the heroine as a friend. I dunno if I've already made it obvious, but... well, I'll let you readers notice it for yourselves. =P

**Meresta**: Oooh! I'm really happy that you picked up the meaning behind Kei's thoughts and actions! That means I'm writing my ideas right! Woohoo! I hope you're not disappointed with how they made up, though. I believe that actions speak louder than words. =P I have a rough outline on how the events will unfold, and for once I'm not worried about the ending. I try to be 2-3 chapters ahead so I won't feel pressured when updating. Hehehe! XD I prefer the boys in 2 over the ones in 1 now, too. They're more interesting and better-looking. But of course, no one's gonna replace Kei-chan and I still have a soft spot for Himurocchi. =P

**Haya-chan**: A new reader! Welcome! I'm very happy you like this story and thank you for the review! XD You haven't gotten his ending yet? Oh no... This story has a lot of spoilers. =( Oh and if you date Kei at the Night Parade for the 3rd time, you'll get to know him better. And thank you very much for liking the heroine.

**darkness01:** Oh you're back! I know what you mean about school... *sighs* Anyway, thank you for the review and it won't be long now for Kei to reach the smiling state. XD I wanna immerse myself in TMGS2, too, but I'm forcing myself to wait until the next patch. I wanna understand the endings... =(

**nattie:** Yeah, I've seen them, too! You haven't seen Kei? He was actually the first guy I saw since Saeki loves to go shopping. Kei's picture is pinned at the shopping mall. Hehehe! Thank you! But I personally believe that it's not impossible for Kei to show his anger in that situation. I based it on his reaction when you ask him about middle school. He's usually cool-headed, so for him to suddenly become angry and shut the heroine out just for asking that topic only implies that he must have had a bad experience with people who tried to be friends with him before.


	13. Chapter 13: Polar Opposites

**A/N:** Japanese culture is so different... I'm gonna have to research some more. =(

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 13: December 24 – Polar Opposites

Kei knew that the principal had a tendency to go over the edge with celebrations, but he still couldn't believe the incredible amount of effort – and money – that he was always willing to spend just for the enjoyment of the students and teachers.

The decorations of the mansion were a sight to behold, but what really caught his attention was the food. Numerous tables were lined up and lavished with a wide variety of traditional Christmas dishes, the delectable scents and smells tempting the senses and promising a full and delicious meal that would satisfy even an insatiable glutton. The assortment of chicken and turkey dishes laid out in an artistic arrangement across the tables was so varied that he could barely recognize some of them other than the fact that they looked delicious to eat. The table at the center sat an impressive-looking three-tiered sponge cake decorated with pure white whipped cream and bordered with pinkish red strawberries. To finish it off, a large chocolate plated 'Merry Christmas' was situated on the top-most layer and surrounded with peaches and cherries.

Everybody was thoroughly impressed and he couldn't deny how his stomach had grumbled at the sight of the tantalizing presentation before him. But now that they were all invited to eat to their hearts' content, he was faced with a rather distressing dilemma.

He was having a difficult time choosing which of the dishes he wanted to eat for dinner.

He'd been circling the rows of tables a few times already and yet his plate was still as clean and empty as ever. He didn't have a particular preference for food, but to randomly pick anything among the delicious dishes just to fill his stomach seemed like he would be wasting a moment that he should have enjoyed.

On the other hand, the girl beside him seemed to be having no trouble at all. She was stacking so much food in her plate that it was rather difficult to believe that she would be able to eat all of them.

She must have noticed his blatant staring because she turned to him with a puzzled stare. When she still didn't get what he was trying call attention to, he pointed at her plate. "Your food..."

"Hm?" She raised a confused eyebrow while her fork reached forward to attack a slice of fruit, which he assumed was a watermelon. In a blink of an eye, it disappeared inside her mouth with a pop. "Do you want some?" She took another slice and attempted to put it in his plate, but he quickly pulled his plate out of her reach. "What? You hate fruits, too?"

He didn't say that. He was just too busy marveling at the petite girl's unexpected appetite. The traces of juice dribbling under her chin didn't help take his eyes off her either.

She took his silence as a 'No' and gladly shoved the fruit in front of his face. "Then go ahead and try some!"

"No." He muttered curtly and decided not to pay attention to the odd girl and leave her to hoard the last remaining watermelon slices into her already overflowing plate.

Before he could go back to choosing which food he wanted to eat, however, she surprised him by trying another tactic. "Open up! Here comes the choo choo train~!"

The glare he directed at her startled her so much that it made her gasp out loud, causing her fork to slip from her fingers and fall onto the floor with a soft ping.

"O-Oh... I guess that plan only works once, huh?" She laughed nervously and drew a few steps back, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "But I could have sworn that these tasted so much better than sprouts…" She murmured, unaware that he could still hear her loud and clear. Grabbing a couple of chopsticks from the table, she turned to him and smiled. "Anyway… see you later, Hazuki-kun!"

Kei watched her walk away, her hands balancing the plate with practiced grace he knew she had picked up after working at ALUCARD for several months. She headed towards a group of people who greeted her with thanks and cheers, and he realized that the food she had gathered wasn't meant for her alone. The faces of her friends were sort of familiar. They were the people whom he'd seen in school a handful of times but never really talked to.

Still, he couldn't help but notice that no matter how much she was enjoying the company of her friends, she seemed to stick out like a sore a thumb at their table. As it was, she looked like she was the only one who wasn't able to snag a partner for the party. The way they gathered together gave the impression that they were involved in some sort of a huge group date. He wasn't the type to notice such things, but judging by their interactions with one another, he could plainly tell who was paired up with who.

The first pair was Suzuka - the name was drilled into his head after being hollered by Mr. Himuro too many times than he could count - and a timid-looking girl with a green hair. He was wolfing down a portion of the plate of food while the girl tried fruitlessly to calm him down and stop him from staining his coat.

The second pair was Morimura - another name he remembered since they sometimes bumped into each other at the forest park - and a spectacled girl who looked too stern and serious for a girl her age. They were busy having a quiet conversation and he guessed that they were discussing academic matters judging by the lack of interest of the others to join them.

The third pair was a guy in a flashy purple suit and the energetic girl called Natsumi. The man was obviously a womanizer and she looked almost ready to call him a pervert if he did more than just ogle at the group of girls chatting at another table. They were bickering like grade-schoolers and he wondered if the man would soon end up with a red hand print on one of his cheeks once the party was over.

The last pair was Mihara and Mizuki, the two popular people in school that even he was inclined to know their names. The usually haughty girl was well-behaved and composed in front of his presence. She wasn't even bothered the slightest bit whenever he amused himself by checking his reflection on his personal hand mirror every so often or making an art out of the food on the plate.

Kei's studious gaze settled back on the girl who was laughing along with her friends and looking like she was having so much fun. He'd never really seen her laugh that much whenever she was around him. It didn't matter that she was the only one without a male companion for Christmas Eve. Just being with her friends was enough.

It was impressive how she was able to attract that many people in just a span of a couple of months. It was hard not to notice since they were attending the same school and the same class. Mostly he would see her hanging out with the girls at school or at the café. He hadn't really seen her with any of the guys yet, but considering how well they were all getting along, she probably had gone out with them maybe once or twice.

Then again, knowing the kind of girl that she was, it would be a lot stranger if she wasn't able to find at least one friend to hang out with. She was a nice girl and her happy-go-lucky attitude made it perfectly natural to trust others easily. In a sense, her insatiable curiosity and grating naiveté could be compared to a little kid who would accept lollipops even from suspicious strangers.

To him, everyone was a complete stranger. Even if he was surrounded by hundreds of people, his brain wouldn't register their faces as if they all looked similar - blank and unrecognizable. He could feel them watching and appraising him from head to toe, but those same stares would always pass right through him as if they weren't actually looking at him at all. He could hear their voices echoing inside his head, but he wouldn't be able to understand their words nor the feelings attached to them.

It was different on her case. She was happy being surrounded with all those people. She considered them as friends even if some of them didn't think the same way. For her, every shared look meant something no matter how insignificant or irrelevant she interpreted them to be. She had the knack of saying whatever came first in her mind and that always led her into trouble in more ways than one, but she always managed to turn the tables so that everything worked out just fine in the end.

The differences in their personalities were so striking that only an extremely idiotic person would fail to notice them. He didn't believe in the crappy saying 'opposites attract' because it just didn't make any sense that two people with clashing traits could ever find a means to make their relationship work. But then again, who was he to talk? He'd never had real friends before, so how could he trust his warped view about friendship and bonds?

And why was he even thinking about such things? Since when did he care about how different she was to him? Was he already considering how their friendship would turn out if he allowed her to get close?

He tightened his grip on his plate, an uncomfortable sensation coiling and uncoiling in his gut. He bit his lip at the highly unpleasant feeling and inwardly wondered why he was having such a violent reaction at the idea of wanting to be her friend. He felt as if his own body was grumbling at him for even thinking about it. In fact, his ears were already being bombarded by warning growls, like if he didn't stop letting his mind wander about, he would be in serious trouble.

He stopped, considering it for a few seconds. He placed his hand against his stomach and felt it rumble gently underneath his palm.

No, that wasn't it. He was just hungry.

Shrugging off all unnecessary thoughts that still lingered in his head, he returned all his attention on his food hunt. He wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been stuffing his plate and his mouth with food he had gathered here and there - being picky was out of the question since his stomach had a mind of its own now. By the time he was finished, couples were already gathering at the center of the hall.

It was a signal for the dance to start... and a warning for him to go and find a place where no one could bother him.

He found his desired spot on one of the balconies at the second floor of the mansion. The place provided a spectacular view of the principal's large garden, which was covered with a thick blanket of pure white snow. The edges of the branches hanging from the barren trees sparkled under the glow of the full moon. He placed his arms against the balustrade and watched as his sigh formed a thin fog due to the cold weather.

"Ah, there you are, Hazuki-kun."

The soft clicks of her high-heeled shoes disrupted the quiet atmosphere as she casually approached his side. It hadn't even been ten minutes since he arrived at the place and yet she managed to find him already. And to think that he had actually been very careful in his escape so that she wouldn't be able to track him down. He didn't know if he just stood out so much that sneaking away was practically impossible or if she was actually a stalker in disguise.

He watched as she leaned her back against the balustrade. She was never one to remain silent for so long, so he didn't bother asking why she chose to follow him. He returned his attention to the view of the garden and waited... and waited some more. Almost fifteen minutes had passed and she still hadn't spoken a word.

What was she doing?

He stole a glance at her profile and was surprised to find her eyes closed. He would have thought her to be asleep if it weren't for the lazy smile on her lips and the constant twiddling of her fingers. When she finally opened her eyes moments later, he quickly averted his gaze, not wanting to be caught staring. He expected her to finally speak her mind, but was taken aback when he heard the click of her shoes once again.

She was walking away.

Kei was thoroughly confused and was about to ask what exactly just happened when she greeted him cheerfully with a wave of her hand. "Merry Christmas, Hazuki-kun!"

His brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Uhh..." She continued, her uneasiness showing by how she was avoiding looking at his eyes. "Christmas should be spent with friends, don't you think? I wanted to invite you to eat with us, but I have a feeling that you won't be comfortable with it, so..."

Her further explanations fell on deaf ears as Kei's thoughts made a slow progress on processing her words. The more he tried to understand them, the more confused he got. So she didn't come here to bother him or drag him back to the party? She followed him because she wanted to share a quiet moment? With him?

"...and do you mind if I stay a bit longer? It feels nice here. I'll try my best to be as quiet as possible." Her voice sounded timid, and her uncharacteristic asking for his permission told him that she didn't want to be nuisance. He understood her actions, especially after what had happened at the school rooftop, but what really struck him the most was how she was willing to hold herself back just for his sake.

She still chose to give an unsociable guy like him some of her time and accepted him no matter how different he was compared to her other friends. It didn't even seem to matter to her that they were complete opposites.

That or she was probably just too friendly for her own good. He really couldn't tell anymore since he could barely keep up with her unpredictability. Perhaps he was the only one who kept on over-thinking things? The fact that they were opposites probably never even crossed her mind.

Did it really matter, after all?

His answer was a light shrug of his shoulders and she instantly took her previous position against the balustrade. Much to his amusement, in the end, she couldn't resist keeping her mouth shut and started talking about peculiar things like snowflakes and Christmas presents. It was still strange to hear her talk so casually as if they were the best of friends, but he found himself listening attentively to her words for once.

When somebody arrived to ask them to return to the hall for the exchange of gifts, he finally had an answer to the question that had been plaguing his mind for days.

The answer was simple, really. Because somehow, without him noticing, he secretly wanted to become a friend of hers, too.

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**A/N: **Hooray! Kei finally decides to give our heroine a chance! XD It's time for the smiling face arc! Gosh... To tell you the truth, I have no idea how many chapters this story is going to have. I hope you guys can still bear with me. XD

**nattie: **Hehehe! You flatter me~! =P Thank you! I've always thought that the bento scene can be interpreted in so many different ways. I had fun writing it. XD

**Haya-chan:** Thank you for liking the heroine. Based on her responses on certain dates, I honestly believe that she's sharper than she seems to be. I think she's only thick-headed when it comes to love. By the way, I've heard of that Starry Sky series... Is it good? I wanted to try it out myself (because Kei's VA, Midorikawa Hikaru, is there), but I couldn't get the patch to work... =(

**Meresta:** Shucks! You got me again! I did make Kei a bit paranoid last chapter because his confusion was getting to him. I swear if I were writing in the heroine's POV, she won't appear to be as unpredictable as Kei is making her out to be. Hahaha! XD Oh, and I'm very happy you weren't disappointed!


	14. Chapter 14: Honest Mistakes

**A/N:** I was supposed to post this earlier, but I got a little sidetracked. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is pure LOVE!

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**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 14: January 20-22 – Honest Mistakes

It was late afternoon and the bells from the front door continued its ringing and jiggling as a steady stream of people kept coming inside the cafe to relax after a hard day's work. The cafe was larger and more popular than ALUCARD, so it didn't take long before the whole place was filled with everyone's loud chatter.

If today was like any other day, the noise would have driven Kei to find a quieter cafe, but as it was, something had caught his full attention and he was left without a reason to leave early.

He had his eyes trained on a group of girls who had entered the cafe a few minutes ago, the bright shades of grey and white in their uniforms telling him that they were from... Hanegasaki High, perhaps? As he followed their movements, he realized that he couldn't take his eyes off one of the girls... or more like he didn't want to.

There was something... special about her. Her presence alone instantly calmed his frazzled nerves as if all his frustrations were lifted completely off his chest.

As luck would have it, she and her companions sat on the table next to his. He was somewhat aware that his highly intense stare was bordering to the point of being rude, but judging from their muffled giggles and giddy whispers, the attention they were receiving from him wasn't entirely unwelcome. They seemed to know him because he heard his name being brought up a few times, but he didn't care about whatever it was that were talking about and continued his unabashed staring.

His attention was entirely focused on one girl. She was bravely meeting his eyes, as if silently inviting him to do more than just stare. She was remarkably pretty. A smile graced her glossy pink lips, her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she blinked attractively at him.

Kei couldn't help himself. He approached their table and their whispers immediately ceased. His hand moved on its own and reached towards her face, his sudden boldness eliciting a gasp from the startled girl. He leaned a bit closer and she instantly closed her eyes when the gap between their faces grew smaller. Without a word, his fingers slipped between the soft strands of her black tresses...

...and unclipped the cute white kitty barrette from her hair.

Kei leaned back and studied the hairclip a bit more closely under the light, silently marveling at the small accessory's simple and yet charming design. Who would have thought that he would find it here, of all places?

Kei returned his attention to the girl, who was openly gaping at him like a dying fish. "Excuse me..." He briefly noticed that even though she was still pretty, she didn't look as attractive to him now. It was probably because of the missing barrette on her hair. Again, he was amazed at how a simple accessory could transform and highlight a girl's features. "Where did you buy this?"

This would be great for Akari's birthday present. He'd never really seen her wear hair clips before, but he honestly believed that it would look nice on her. If she didn't like hair clips, surely she would find the kitten's cartoonish face cute at the very least?

Well, he certainly found it cute.

The girl and her companions didn't answer and just stared at him in pure disbelief, their lack of response forcing him to think twice about his actions. Perhaps it wasn't really such a good idea for a stranger like him to randomly approach girls and ask about hair clips? Now that he thought about it, he did get a little carried away, didn't he?

He was just about to apologize when the girl finally spoke. "I-I'm not sure... It's a gift from my aunt." She stuttered, her fingers reaching up to lightly comb her hair in embarrassment. Without her hair clip, there was nothing keeping her bangs from falling all over her face. "If you want... I'll give it to you?"

His mood instantly fell at her words. He should have expected that finding a gift wouldn't be easy. If he had overheard Akari's friends correctly, her birthday was this coming Wednesday and he only had until tomorrow to find a present. It was the reason he was currently at the seaside district on a normal school day.

Unfortunately for him, his gift hunt had been a total failure. His window shopping at the mall had lasted for two hours, but he hadn't been able to pick a single thing because he had no idea about her likes and dislikes. What was worse, he had gotten a bit distracted and had ended up buying toys for the cats at school instead. Eventually, the mentally exhausting trip had led him this cafe where he continued to wrack his brain for some last minute ideas, but it had backfired on him and had given him a migraine. The girl should have been the answer to his troubles, but now that he thought about it, he would probably be in a better mood if hadn't seen her at all.

The last thing he wanted to do was to project his annoyance on a poor and defenseless hair clip for leading him on.

"Hazuki-kun?"

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and it took a few seconds before he remembered that she had asked him a question. "Ah... No, thank you." He suppressed a disappointed sigh as he placed the hair clip on top of their table. "Excuse me." As he turned to leave, he didn't notice their surprised expressions and how they were desperately calling out his name. He also didn't notice when several people turned their heads at the small commotion he had unintentionally caused. It would never occur to him that in the months ahead, that same incident would be the cause of a crazy rumor about him having a fetish with hair clips, which would be passed around by word of mouth.

He was going to try his luck again tomorrow... and he was going to ask for professional help.

* * *

"Hazuki... You're asking me... about girls?"

Kei nodded uneasily, hoping that the old man would stop staring at him with bulging eyes as if he had seen a ghost. Kei had been waiting for the perfect time to talk to him and he had been lucky to find him busy arranging some materials and equipment on one of the shelves inside an unoccupied room in the studio. He wondered if he should have raised the question when the older man was on his break. "Am I bothering you...?"

"Ah no... Not really, but..." Kurosaki scratched his graying hair in confusion."...am I the right person to be asked of that? I'm just a janitor, Hazuki." He let out a series of coughing noise, but Kei was already familiar with his strange antics and he knew that he was just trying to cover up his nervousness.

Kei knew that there were other and more qualified people whom he could ask regarding such matter, but that didn't necessarily mean that there were a lot of them. Since he didn't have any other close friends in school, he could only count a handful of people he was comfortable enough to ask for help.

His uncle was out of the question because even though he was a magazine editor and probably knew more about teenage girls than anybody else he knew, he would bet his life on it that he would blow the whole situation way out of proportion and Kei would never hear the end of it. His manager was out of the list, too, since she had the scary habit of putting off anything or anyone else that wasn't related to work. He could say that some of the photographers would be willing enough to help him, but he could already tell that the gifts they would suggest were beauty products or clothes. He didn't think those gifts would be effective to show his sincerity.

"I just want you to help me think of a birthday present." Kei continued, silently gauging his reaction. Out of all of his options, the old man Kurosaki was the best choice. For as long as he could remember, Kurosaki had been working in the studio ever since his uncle had pushed him to model for one of his projects when he was still in middle school. He was a kindly old man who used to fuss over him when work became too hectic for a middle-schooler. He even remembered how he used to bring him all sorts of chocolates and candies to give him the energy to remain awake. The similarities were small, but in a way, Kurosaki reminded him of his late grandfather. He was always sincere and was probably the only one who would actually take him seriously.

"Eh?" Kurosaki almost dropped a box full of combs and hair dryers. "Are you saying you're giving a gift to a... girl?"

Was the idea so strange? He nodded slowly, unsure of what to make of it.

"Don't give me that look, kid. There are so many models falling in love with you and yet you reject every single one of them. How am I supposed to react?" The old man laughed as he waggled a stern finger at him. "So, tell me about this girl. Do I know her? Is she one of the models?" There was no trace of nervousness in his wrinkly eyes anymore, just plain curiosity and amusement. "You're a handsome kid. I'm actually shocked that it took you this long to get yourself a girlfriend."

Kei raised a slender eyebrow. "She's a girl... and a friend."

Kurosaki made a clucking noise with his tongue. "Is she a special friend?"

He almost snorted at that. She was special, all right. She was unique... or more like strange. She was a weirdo. Did that count? "Sort of."

"Well, kid..." Kurosaki rubbed his growing beard thoughtfully for a few seconds. Judging from his expression, Kei could tell that he was definitely enjoying this. "I still don't get why you're asking a person like me about this, but since you took the trouble... I might as well entertain ya. I have plenty of experience from my daughters, after all! Those brats can get so picky about their birthday presents sometimes..." He grinned broadly and ushered the younger man to sit on a chair next to him. "By the way... I can always 'borrow' some underwear from the studio next door. Which do you prefer? Sexy or pure?"

All right, so maybe he had thought wrong. Perhaps asking a perverted geezer for an idea of a birthday gift wasn't one of his best ideas, after all.

"I'm just messing with ya, don't give me such a dirty look." He chuckled and clapped his hands together. The mischievous smirk was gone and was replaced with a sober smile. "Spit out the details, kid. What exactly do you know about her?"

When Kei only sat there and stared blankly at the old man, only then did Kurosaki realized the real reason he was asking for help. "You don't know anything? Have you just recently met the girl?"

"I've known her for several months..." He purposely left out that Akari was once a childhood friend.

"Is she a classmate?" Kei replied with a nod. "Don't you hang out together?"

Was the incident at the forest park considered as hanging out even if he only agreed to it because of his guilt? "...Once."

Kurosaki frowned. "And? What did you learn? I assume she's the one who's doing all the talking, right?"

Kei knitted his eyebrows together in deep thought. To be honest, he hadn't really been paying attention to her babbles. The only time he had actually listened to her was during the Christmas party, but she had only talked about how she had bought a cheap gift and how pretty the snowflakes had looked then. That conversation was anything but helpful.

"Geez, Hazuki..." A sharp sound caught Kei's attention and his eyes widened when the blunt end of Kurosaki's mop was pointed under his nose. "Are you really making an effort to be her friend? Ah, no. Don't answer that... That's why you're asking about the gift, right? I'll give you points for that, but sheesh! Kids these days..."

Kei wasn't sure if he should be annoyed that the old man was lecturing him or if he really should reflect on his actions. Kurosaki would probably even bonk his forehead with the mop if he found out about the rooftop incident...

"All right then..." Kurosaki continued, scratching the back of his head in frustration. "When you get home, grab some random thing from your room, wrap it up in some fancy paper, and give it to her tomorrow." With that said, the old man stood up and hauled a heavy-looking box on top of the shelf. Kei forced himself to wait patiently for the punch line, but when he didn't say another word, he was surprised to know that it wasn't a joke.

But he couldn't do that. He didn't want to do that. Finding the perfect gift for Akari was important. She went out of her way to buy him a gift on his birthday she knew he would like, so he wanted to do the same. Since it was impossible for him to tell her that he recognized and accepted their friendship without making a fool of himself, he wanted to show his intentions through a birthday gift she would definitely love.

"I think you're a good kid, but you're not exactly the most approachable." Kei looked up from his seat to see the old man grinning at his confused expression. "That girl has guts to put up with you, but it only shows that she really wants to be friends. If that's the case, then you'll probably make her happy by just letting her know more about you. What better way to show it by giving her one of your possessions? You'll get your point across and you won't spend a penny for it!" His laughter reverberated inside the small room and Kei was painfully reminded of how the old man used to howl Japanese ballads whenever he mopped the floors or scrubbed the walls and windows.

Still, Kurosaki's idea might just work. In fact, he already had something in mind and all he needed to do now was to find a wrapping paper.

* * *

Once again, Kei found himself sipping tea while listening to the usual hustle and bustle of a cafe filled with random customers on a lazy afternoon. However, he wasn't alone this time as the presence of an auburn-haired girl across the table kept his attention from wandering about. Akari was busy savoring the taste of her strawberry cheesecake while making strange faces every time she swallowed a piece.

This was the first time that he had agreed to hang out with her at the cafe, so he wasn't sure if the dessert was her favorite or if she really just loved eating cake. If he knew that she had this reaction to the strawberry cheesecake, he would have bought her a whole cake and that would have saved him from all the trouble of finding a birthday present for her.

Speaking of birthday presents, his gift was still tucked safely inside his leather bag. He knew that this was his perfect chance to pass it to her, but his hands refused to put his tea down. What was wrong with him? All he needed to do was to take out the gift from the bag, place it in her hands, say some stuff about her birthday, listen to her thanks, leave the cafe, and go home. He gritted his teeth together in annoyance at the jumble of nerves springing and swirling in his gut.

It was far too late to back down. He'd exerted a great deal amount of effort to get this right and he wouldn't dare bungle it up now because of some mysterious last-minute jitters. Besides, she'd probably received a lot of gifts from her friends already. Now that he mentioned it, where did she hide all her other presents? It wouldn't be weird at all if he gave her one, too, right? Friends were supposed to give each other gifts on their birthdays.

"Hazuki-kun?"

He almost scowled when her concerned voice only intensified the uncomfortable sensation building in his stomach. Not wanting to let his mind change on its own, he quickly pulled his present out of the bag and placed it on top of the table. He expected her surprised reaction, but what he didn't expect was the way she gawked at him as if he'd grown two heads on his shoulders. Clearing his throat, Kei forced to ignore the highly disturbing expression that was plastered on Akari's face. "This..."

She beat him to it. "A present..." She stared at it in awe... or disbelief. Kei didn't want to know. "Is this for my birthday?"

"Akari. Your birthday is a special day." This was all he could come up with to say to her, but he truly meant the meaning behind those words.

He almost let out a relieved sigh when she finally accepted the gift, but she wasn't making any move to open it. Instead, she continued to stare at him as if he had something stuck on his face. "Hazuki-kun... you called my..." She trailed off. To his surprise, her cheeks blushed a bright pink. He called her... what? His confusion was forgotten when the smile she gave him was so radiant that he felt a nagging urge to return a smile of his own.

Yes. The trouble was definitely worth it.

As expected, the uneasy feeling was gone and Kei was actually pleased that she would receive his gift so warmly. "It was kind of fun picking a present for you." He continued. In the end, he had settled to give her one of his photo albums of kittens, which he had faithfully collected since grade school. He had printed extra photos from his computer and he had enjoyed choosing which pictures he wanted to include in the album. Considering that he had a large batch of pictures to pick from, he had ended up sleeping at two o'clock in the morning, but he hadn't minded it the least bit. Akari had opened the present and she seemed to be enjoying the photos, too, judging by how she kept on squealing at how cute and huggable they were.

His good mood went spiraling downwards, however, when she blurted one very important detail. "Thank you for the early birthday gift, Hazuki-kun. I'll treasure it."

Early... birthday gift? "What...?" Did he hear her right? Was his mind just playing tricks on him?

Her brown eyes widened at his scowl. "Umm... T-Tomorrow's my birthday, Hazuki-kun."

Kei swore that the next time he would attempt to eavesdrop, he would make absolutely sure to do it right.

* * *

**A/N:** Hehehe! Poor Kei-kun... He doesn't have Tsukushi's ninja skills when it comes to gathering information, nor does he have the heroine's uncanny ability to choose the perfect gift (with the help of us players, of course. XD).

**Meresta:** I know right? I can't believe it has been 13 chapters and this story is still being read and reviewed by so many wonderful people! I'm so lucky to have you guys! XD ':)' is friends/best friends, ':D' is crush/like, and tokimeki is love. Oh, oh! And the chapter for the CG you're waiting for will arrive sooner than you think (assuming of course, we're thinking of the same thing XD). It'll happen in Spring, right? Hehe!

**Haya-chan:** Wahaha! Yeah, you're right about that getting in the car of a complete stranger. I'm actually more worried about the fact that the heroine doesn't even recognize the principal of her school. O_o Don't worry because I'll be including Amanohashi's creepiness in this story and you'll know what Kei thinks about that. Thank you very much for the help! I'll leave you a note once I've given up trying to figure it out myself. =P


	15. Chapter 15: Chocolates

**A/N: **And so… after a few months of not updating, I present to you another chapter. I'll just do my rant afterwards, so please enjoy reading. XD

* * *

**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 15: February 12-14 - Chocolates

Kei was never one to watch another person's sleeping face. It was usually the other way around since most of the time he was the one who kept on dozing off. Akari, who was snuggling her face against her math exercises, was particularly interesting to watch. This wasn't the first time he'd seen her take a nap inside the library, but he was never given the chance to study her for this long. Briefly, he remembered the last time he had caught her sleeping. He had unintentionally woken her up and it had been a rather comical sight since she had broken the silence with a shriek about being whipped by Mr. Himuro.

It had been nearly a year since he'd met the bubbly and overly cheerful Akari, so it was rather strange for him to see a girl like her to look so vulnerable when asleep. Her mouth was half-open as she breathed evenly, her shoulders rising and falling in perfect rhythm. If he leaned a bit closer, he could hear her light snores. He found himself following the slow movements of her pupils underneath her eyelids, a sign that she was indeed sleeping quite soundly and was probably enjoying herself in some far off dreamland.

Steeling himself, Kei positioned himself in front of his seat and, without further ado, slammed the pile of books on top of his desk with a resounding bam!

As expected, the effect was instantaneous and her outburst was like setting off fireworks. To his slight disappointment, she only stood up screaming this time as everyone's eyes were instantly on her and he didn't miss the muffled laughter and giggles thrown their way. Just like a few days before, the poor girl blushed furiously upon realizing what just happened before straightening herself and sitting down again.

Kei was in no way a sadist. He blamed it on how he'd been alone for so long that he'd forgotten the perks of having someone to pick fun of. It didn't help that Akari was especially fun to tease.

Or at least, that was what he liked to tell himself.

"Kei-kun!" She hissed his name like a wildly agitated cat, causing Kei to imagine how silly she would look like if she had whiskers and a tail. However, his amusement was short-lived when the glare he noticed she was directing at him gave the impression that she wanted nothing more than to throw one of the hard-bound books on his face.

Akari didn't seem like the violent type, but it wouldn't hurt to feign ignorance just to be safe. "Hm?"

"You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?" She was trying her hardest to keep her voice down, but her frenzied gestures only made the stares all around her linger more. "Can't you just wake me up with a gentle pat on my head the next time I fall asleep?"

He only blinked at her in response. "There's drool on your chin."

"What? Oh..." She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her uniform. "Hey! Stop distracting me!"

Kei bit his lower lip in a poor attempt to keep himself from smiling. "Then don't fall asleep." He returned his attention to the books on his desk. The librarian was giving them sharp looks under her overly large spectacles, which seemed to amplify the power of her glares. No need to risk the old woman's anger anymore than necessary.

She pouted as Kei pushed a Calculus book into the messy pile of papers which she had been using to cushion her head. "I'm surprised that **you're** not sleepy. I bet you're just jealous because compared to my soft papers..." She emphasized the word 'soft' with an unnecessary drawl. "...your books can't be used as a proper pillow."

His eyes flickered to her face before he opened one of the books. "You have a large red mark on your forehead."

"I do?" Her hand immediately went up to cover her forehead in another bout of embarrassment.

"I'm joking."

Apparently not convinced of his so-called joke, she rummaged her bag to grab a mirror. She glared at him again before muttering incoherently about nice dreams, drools, and red marks. "Well, I still think you just want these papers for yourself."

"I do want them." She brightened at this and he was sure she was about to gloat when he quickly cut her off. "I have to check your answers for the exercises. You're not done yet, right?" His eyes narrowed, hoping she'd get the idea that he was blatantly accusing her of sleeping when they were supposed to be studying.

To his surprise, she replied with a grin. "Ha! Of course I'm done." She lifted her chin up and confidently handed the papers to him. "Take your time, Kei-kun. I'm sure you'll be very proud of me. I bet I can even beat you in the exams!"

Amused at her unusual cockiness, he skimmed the contents of the papers one by one. It didn't take long before he was able to determine her score. "That's eleven out of twenty."

"What?" Her eyes bulged as she grabbed the papers from his hands. "You're joking!"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Umm... Yes?" She squeaked.

He shook his head and felt sorry for her when he saw her confidence puff out from her shoulders like an air balloon. Still, he didn't expect her to have a perfect score. The exercises he had given her were from an advanced level of Calculus, after all. He was already impressed that she even managed to answer some of them.

He wanted to tell her that, but for some reason, he wasn't sure how he should say it. If he told her that he didn't expect her to answer any of them at all, would it sound conceited on his part? He knew how much she'd been trying so hard during their previous study sessions - even if she did fall asleep several times. The last thing he wanted to do was to offend the girl. Would it be fine if he just said not to worry about it? What kind of encouragement was that?

Annoyed at his lack of knowledge in basic social etiquette, Kei pushed the thoughts aside and decided to distract her instead. If he couldn't force himself to comfort her, it only made sense to get her occupied on something else, right? "Why do you look so tired and sleepy lately?" That question had been bugging him for quite some time now. This was the perfect chance for him to ask.

"Huh?" She sighed at her papers one last time before turning to him with pitiful eyes, which briefly reminded Kei of one of the cats at the back of school that had begged desperately for a bite of his tuna sandwich. "Oh, you noticed it, too? I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. I swear if the girls aren't encouraging me, I won't put up with it."

"Put up with what?"

"My little brother's chocolate-making sessions for Valentine's Day." She stopped upon seeing the surprise on his face. "Don't look at me like that, Kei-kun. You know how annoying Tsukushi can get. He keeps pestering me to give chocolates to guys because he's scared that I might end up as an old maid in the future." She scrunched her face together in exasperation. "He even gives me tips on how to attract boys! Honestly, just because he's popular with the girls in his grade doesn't mean that I have to..."

Kei let her mumble and complain about her little brother as he stared at her with a blank expression. Seriously, why bother? For him, Valentine's Day was way overrated. She really shouldn't let her brother trick her into doing stuff she didn't want to do. It didn't even seem like she had a guy she had special feelings for, so why should she have to go through all that trouble to bake some? Her time should have been used on more important things... like sleep, for example.

"...the chocolates taste sort of good, though. It makes me wonder where Tsukushi learns all that stuff." When she finally stopped talking, Kei found himself under her scrutinizing stare. "Say, Kei-kun... You're extremely popular, so that means you get lots of chocolates for Valentine's Day, right? I bet you get asked out and hear love confessions more than every guy in school combined!" She giggled at the obvious exaggeration, but when he didn't find her joke funny, her laugh eventually turned awkward. "No obligatory chocolates?"

He shook his head. Not as far as he could remember.

"Oh. Well, at least you get delicious chocolates!" She was forcing herself to look on the bright side, but they both knew that he hated it whenever they fawn all over him. Dealing with lovesick fangirls and jealous guys just for accepting chocolates was something he never looked forward to. "A-Anyway, since you've eaten so many chocolates, care to give me any tips on how to make my own really yummy?"

She was staring at him with a wide smile on her lips as if he was a chocolate gourmet and would actually give the best advice when it came to homemade chocolates. He really had to wonder what the heck was going on inside that head of hers. "I'm... not that fond of sweets."

"Really? Don't you like at least one of them?"

"They have pretty wrappings." That was probably the only thing he liked about the gifts. Their elaborate presentations sometimes made him think of putting them on display instead of eating them.

Her eyes narrowed curiously. "You don't eat them?"

"Sometimes. Just small bites. I can't eat too much because of my part-time job." He frowned. Why were they suddenly talking about his Valentine chocolates anyway?

"Oh, right. Being a model is tough sometimes, huh? You can't just eat anything you want." She placed her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on the back of her hands. "I bet you get really amazing-looking homemade chocolates... or the most expensive ones at the store. What a waste if they're not going to- Wait a minute!"

The librarian shushed her with a snap of her stick that caught the attention of every person inside the library. The old woman was angry enough that he might as well see smoke coming from her ears. Akari visibly reddened for being the object of the librarian's fury again and she didn't open her mouth to speak for the next ten minutes. When she deemed it safe to continue, she lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"What about White Day?" She whispered, careful not to agitate the librarian again even though her face couldn't contain her curiosity. "How do you deal with so many girls giving you chocolates on Valentine's Day?"

No wonder she got excited. If he wasn't Hazuki Kei, he would have wondered how someone like him could possibly give chocolates to numerous girls he hardly knew. He wanted to give her a satisfying and interesting answer, but he didn't want to lie. "I don't."

She stilled, her head tilting to the side in confusion. "You don't give out return gifts?"

"I used to." During middle school, there were only a handful of girls who confessed their love for him and gave him chocolates. Giving gifts on White Day was the polite thing to do back then. When he became a model, White Day had grown too tiresome that he didn't bother with it anymore. "I don't like it when they confess to me and act as if they've known me for years. There's no point in getting their hopes up."

Akari became silent with a thoughtful expression on her face. Kei wondered if he had upset her with his answer. This was the girl who had lectured him for giving away his fangirls' gifts during his birthday. He wouldn't be surprised if she thought that not giving the slightest bit of care towards his admirers was rude.

"Hey, Kei-kun..." She began and Kei braced himself for an upcoming reprimand, but was surprised when she fluttered her eyelashes and scooted her chair closer to him. His eyes widened a fraction when she leaned close and whispered, "You know that I'm always here for you, right?"

When she suddenly grabbed his hand and clasped it in hers, he could feel panic gathering at the pit of his stomach. Alarm bells were ringing in his ears and he suddenly had the urge to jump out of his seat.

What in the world was she up to now? Why was she so close and why the heck was she holding his hand?

"That's why if you ever want to get rid of your chocolates," She grinned from ear-to-ear then playfully stuck her tongue out. "just give them to me instead, okay?"

Unfortunately, Kei was never one to react positively at any forms of intimate gestures and the teasing tone in her voice had been too late to sink in. Before he knew it, he had jerked his hand from Akari's grasp and had moved his chair away so roughly that the chair's legs made a screeching noise as they were dragged roughly against the floor.

It wasn't unexpected when both of them got kicked out of the library a few seconds later.

* * *

Kei sighed and lazily leaned his back against the door of his shoe cupboard and watched with slightly droopy eyes the happenings all around him. The bell had rung a few minutes ago and most of the students were flocking together in groups to leave the school. Although there were still several students who had been left behind to hang out somewhere around the school premises, it wouldn't be long before the halls and corridors were finally empty of students.

Kei in particular was also itching to leave, but Akari had ambushed him right after class was over and had invited him to go to the cafe and grab some bite to eat before they head off to work on their part-time jobs. The two of them were supposed to leave right away, but it seemed that after the little fiasco at the library yesterday, she had completely forgotten to return an overdue book she'd been meaning to return several days ago. He had no choice but to wait for her at the shoe cupboards.

As expected, since it was the day before Valentine's Day, almost everyone had been abuzz with life and he had heard no end to discussions about love, chocolates, and confessions throughout the whole school.

Was he the only one dreading it? Chocolates would come with love letters and even though he had told Akari before that he wouldn't entertain girls who would like to confess, it didn't mean that he wouldn't feel bad about it. He just didn't know what else to do to keep them off his back.

"N-Natsumi-chan, do I really have to buy the expensive box instead?"

"Of course! Why would you even settle for something cheap? Don't you want to impress him?"

Kei's first thought was to ignore the mild chatter coming from the other side of the shoe cupboards behind him, but their voices were too familiar for him to overlook. He didn't need to go around or peer down from above the lockers to recognize who they were. The two girls belonged to Akari's circle of friends.

"But... I don't think he'll like the t-taste..." The stutter and impish tone in her voice told him straight away that it was the green-haired girl who he'd seen playing badminton with Akari quite a few number of times in the past.

"So? But he'll definitely know that the chocolate's special." Natsumi's confident tone was the opposite of her companion's and he slightly blamed the hyperactive girl for rubbing off on Akari since she was her closest friend. "He's an idiot if he mistakes it for a friendship chocolate." There was a pause and some giggling. Kei would have left them alone when a mention of Akari's name was brought up in their conversation.

"How come Akari-chan won't come with us?"

"Akari? She said something about having a part-time work. Besides, she's going to make a special homemade chocolate! She said so herself!"

"R-Really? Is she going to confess? I... I didn't know she likes someone."

"I know, right? She never mentioned it to me, either. But you know..." Kei had to strain his ears to listen. "She's been hanging around all the time with Hazuki Kei."

"H-Hazuki-kun?"

"Yeah. She often talks about him, you know. Maybe she likes him? Akari's not exactly easy to read when it comes to love and relationships because that girl's as dense as a rock, but she **does** think highly of him."

"Oh, okay... Maybe we should cheer her on?"

Kei stood stock still, suddenly feeling numb. Their words kept repeating inside his head like a broken record playing an out-of-tune music. He was having a strangely difficult time processing what he had just found out. Akari... liked him? She was going to give him a special chocolate and was going to confess tomorrow?

He frowned, still refusing to believe such a stupid thing. How was that possible? Akari never hinted she liked him in **that **way. Sure she had been a bit touchy-feely ever since he'd become her friend, but he'd always thought that it was because she was just childish and naive.

His thoughts instantly turned towards the incident at the library. She had been particularly interested in his opinion about chocolates and how he dealt with his fangirls. He had also caught a glimpse of an unreadable expression on her face when he had told her about his lack of participation during White day. Had he thought wrong? Maybe she had been secretly asking him what chocolate he would like and how she was going to prepare her confession tomorrow?

Kei didn't want to think badly of Akari, but it would be a lie if he said that he didn't feel a little betrayed at this turn of events. It wasn't that he'd never considered their relationship to go beyond friendship, but the possibility that Akari had been harboring feelings for him since god knows how long or even before they actually had the chance to get to know each other made him think that the main reason she wanted to be friends with him was because she wanted to become his girlfriend... just like the rest of his fangirls.

He didn't want to feel disappointed. He really didn't, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself that Akari really did care for him as a friend and not just some potential boyfriend material, his mind had already started placing malicious intentions in everything she had done whenever they were spending time together.

Feeling suddenly unwell, he grabbed his cellphone and forced his fingers to mail Akari that he was sorry and that he wouldn't be able to come to the cafe with her, after all. He didn't know how he could face her without asking her directly as to what she really thought of him. Not bothering to wait for her reply, he hurriedly left the school without looking back.

He had a lot to think about.

* * *

It was finally Valentine's Day. Even as Kei sat in his seat like the rest of the other students while they all listened to the teacher's droning lecture, he could tell that everyone was barely paying attention since they were too busy holding off their anxiety. A mixture of excitement, tension, and gloom all rolled into some sort of delicate but intense atmosphere pretty much seeped in all corners of Habataki High. It was as if today was one of the most critical parts of every student's high school life.

If it had been any other Valentine's day, Kei wouldn't have bothered to care and would just go about his normal routine, but since meeting Akari, he knew that it would be impossible to go back to his usual daily life. Not that he wanted to go back. He found this strange territory much more pleasant and interesting than being alone. Unconsciously, his eyes drifted to Akari, who was sitting at the far end of the classroom and was busy copying notes from the chalkboard. He had only spent time with her for a few weeks and he already found himself enjoying her company.

Unfortunately, all of that was bound to change once the day was done. She was going to give him chocolates and confess to him during class break or after school was over.

To be honest, he didn't know what he was going to do about it. Should he accept the chocolate? Was he expected to give her an answer right away? He didn't even know what exactly he felt for the girl other than the fact that he truly valued their friendship. He had tried several times to see both of them as a couple, but each time resulted in a minor headache that he was forced to push the thoughts at the very back of his mind.

He had never fallen seriously in love before, but he knew that this emotion grew overtime as two people became closer together. He couldn't really consider them having a really tight bond since it had only been a month since he opened himself to her. It didn't help matters that he didn't know that much about her, too. He wasn't sure how much she knew about him, but it was rather upsetting that she had already began to like him under those shallow circumstances.

The rest of the day went by like a blink of an eye. At least, that was how it seemed since while worrying about Akari's confession, he had fallen asleep and by the time he had woken up everyone was already up and about. Kei looked down and felt his stomach grumbling angrily, telling him that it was time for lunch. He sighed and was about to stand up when he was met face-to-face with a smiling Akari.

"Kei-kun!"

Startled, he blinked several times before shifting his head away. "Akari." He didn't mean to sound curt, but it was unnatural to see her grinning at him like there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about with what she was about to do. "…What is it?" His tone felt defensive in his ears, but seeing that there was no change of expression on the girl's face, it was probably just his imagination.

Even though he was still not sure on what he was going to do on the aftermath of her confession, Kei hardened his resolve to stand up and head for the door. He was getting sick of worrying about what was going to happen when all he wanted was to get this over and done with. "Come on."

"Huh?" Her confusion made him turn his head. "Where are we going?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. She wasn't going to ask him to go somewhere private? She intended to confess to him inside the classroom and right in front of their classmates? She was a lot bolder than he originally thought.

"Nevermind." He shrugged and sat on top of his desk. It was then that he noticed that there were boxes of chocolates coupled with several letters leaning against his chair. Almost immediately, his eyes scanned the classroom and found a group of girls throwing an oblivious Akari dagger-like stares that screamed bloody murder. He didn't hide his urge to protect and his grim expression was enough to make the girls direct their nasty looks elsewhere.

Maybe he should drag her somewhere safe, after all?

"Here you go, Valentine chocolate!" Akari shoved a small bag in his line of sight.

There were no elaborate wrappings and ribbons, no flower scented boxes, and no small chocolate cakes. "…I see." No matter how hard Kei looked at the gift, it was just a simple plastic pouch decorated with animal paws and a big red ribbon to tightly secure it. The contents of the bag could be seen clearly from outside and the shapes of the chocolates were unmistakable.

"They're shaped like cats! I'm not sure if you'll like eating chocolate cats, but I can't really think of anything else. Maybe I should have made them fish-shaped instead?" She laughed sheepishly. "This is your first obligatory chocolate, Kei-kun. It won't be nearly as delicious as your other chocolates, but it's the thought that counts, right? Take your time and savor it, okay?"

"…All right." It was all he could say since he was at a loss for words.

As she rummaged her bag for more of the plastic pouches, all his worries disappeared as if an incredibly heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders. He watched with a small smile as she lifted the pouches for him to get a closer look. "These are for Suzuka-kun and they're shaped like basketballs! Here's for Morimura-kun and they're shaped like flowers..."

She had surprised him once again with her unpredictability and thoughtfulness. His suspicious nature had made him think badly of her yet again and he felt the need to return the chocolates to appease his guilt. He couldn't promise her that he wouldn't let his paranoia run amok again, but he would definitely try... for her sake.

She went on and on about her chocolates as Kei opened his and took the time to savor the sweet treat inside his mouth. Like he had said before, he wasn't too fond of sweets, but there was something in Akari's chocolate that made him want to eat them all up and ask for seconds.

He had to admit that this was the first time he saw Valentine's Day as a happy and memorable experience. It would be an event he would definitely come to anticipate in the next few years.

* * *

**A/N: **Hehe. Not very romantic, no? Well, they're JUST friends at this point so that's pretty much a given. I hope nobody's disappointed, though. XD

Again, sorry for the late update, guys. I kinda lost interest in TMGS for a while and I didn't want to force myself to write chapters just for the sake of updating. Thanks to the wonderful people at Gokusaishiki, I was able to play TMGS2 and was somehow invigorated to write again!

Hopefully you guys are still there reading this fic of mine. Thank you so much for all your support!


	16. Chapter 16: Subtle Gestures

**A/N: **Arrrgh… I'm guilty of neglecting this fic. I'm really sorry, people. So much has happened in real life and let's just say moving to a different country and becoming independent is very much easier said than done. Anyway, please do enjoy this chapter if you guys haven't abandoned me yet. Hehe! XD

* * *

**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 16: March 13 – 14 – Subtle Gestures

"There will be an extracurricular class this Sunday. Anyone interested?"

Kei shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his piercing green eyes boring holes at the back of Akari's head. He could sense the anxiety of his classmates close to him and that was probably because his glare was so intense that it almost seemed like he was shooting lasers from his irises and leaving trails of flames on the path of his gaze.

To be honest, he didn't mean to scare them. He wasn't even mad at all. Okay, so maybe he was a little miffed, but his irritation wasn't because he was angry at the girl he'd been sneaking glances at for almost ten minutes now. He was just annoyed that she was completely out of his reach. Since he was a few seats away from her, all he could really do was to watch helplessly as she kept nodding her head and fluttering her eyes closed - clear signs that she was dangerously close to falling asleep.

"This time, the field trip will be at the museum."

He knew that he didn't have the right to be annoyed at anyone for dozing off during classes. He'd always been known to spend most of his time napping in school without a care in the world, after all. Still, it was entirely different in Akari's case. She had always been a bundle of energy no matter what time of day it was, so it was slightly worrying to see her grow somewhat lethargic during these past couple of days both in school and at work.

Kei never had any close friends before - unless animals and imaginary friends could be counted as best friends. He wasn't exactly sure how one should act when he had a feeling that a friend was in some sort of trouble. Of course, helping that said friend was the obvious thing to do. Heck, it should be a no-brainer even for a socially inept person like him, but he also had to consider other factors... like what exactly her problem was, what was causing it, and how difficult it would be if he were to fix it.

Was it because of the stress during the end-of-term exams a week ago? Had he been pushing her too hard in her studies? She was the one who kept dragging him to tutor her in the first place! Or was it because of her part-time work at the cafe? Perhaps juggling her school work and part-time job was starting to become too tough for her to handle?

He had the option to ask her directly, but if there was one thing that he'd learned about Akari even before they became close, she was the type of person who wouldn't pay attention about her health and would continue to do anything she had set her mind on. If he tried to ask her if there was anything wrong, he could already imagine her brushing him off with a wave or a playful grin.

He narrowed his eyes into tiny slits, unconsciously hoping that he had telekinetic powers that would jolt Akari awake any second now. Didn't she realize how dangerous her situation was? Didn't she realize who their teacher was at the moment? Even though it was just their usual brief homeroom period, Mr. Himuro wasn't the type of teacher who would tolerate anyone who started their school day feeling like they already wanted to go home and sleep.

Just as Kei expected, Akari's drowsy state didn't escape the strict teacher's notice and he could already see the slight furrow of his eyebrows as he trained his glare on her. Mr. Himuro walked around his desk as he approached the center of the classroom, his ruler tapping his palm repeatedly in even intervals, which sounded more like the ticking of a bomb threatening to explode. Kei, who didn't bother to raise his hand along with some of his classmates since his manager had already made plans for him on Sunday for his Spring-themed photo shoot next week, merely watched Mr. Himuro as he surveyed his class' attentive faces before stopping right beside the still oblivious girl.

Kei was sure that Mr. Himuro would do his usual scolding, but he surprised him when he only lightly rapped his knuckles on top of her desk and managed to wake her up without the need to cause a commotion. He did, however, looked at her straight in the eyes afterward and said in a firmer voice, "We'll meet at the park entrance at 10am."

His tone left no room for argument.

Akari's confusion was obvious and she blinked several times before she finally understood her situation. Embarrassed and guilty, she looked like she wanted to bonk her forehead against the desk but decided against it in fear of annoying their teacher more. With a forced smile, she slowly raised her hand along with the others.

Mr. Himuro nodded approvingly. "...Very well. Then the students who decided to participate will meet next Sunday. That's all. Homeroom has ended."

After hearing those words, the classroom was once again filled with its usual noisy chatter as the teacher began to arrange his things and leave for his next class. Kei watched as Akari sagged into her chair, her cheeks puffing in exasperation. For a brief moment, their eyes met and she could only answer his questioning stare with an awkward and helpless shrug of her shoulders.

Sighing, Kei wrote a mental note to himself about teaching Akari several tricks on how to sleep with her eyes open.

* * *

A day passed and White Day arrived. It was one of the most anticipated events of the year by hopeless romantics, teens who were at the peak of puberty, or just anyone driven by their uncontrollable hormones. Just like Valentine's Day, the school was once again teeming with energy and anticipation.

It was lunch time and he could already see students pairing up and going some place private, preferably where they wouldn't get disturbed for their long-awaited confessions. The most popular students held small bags full of gifts while hunting for girls as if they were beardless Santa Clauses going rampant around the school. The girls made it easy for them by hanging at the hallways with expectant faces and noisy giggles.

Kei glanced at his bag, careful not let the girls see that he had tucked a nicely wrapped gift inside it. This was the return gift he would give to Akari as thanks for his very first obligatory chocolates she had given him during Valentine's Day. He still found it strange that he would care enough to participate in the gift-giving after so long, but he had already convinced himself that it was only proper since he actually had a real friend whom he wouldn't mind giving a gift to.

He only had to deal with how he was going to hand the gift to her without embarrassing himself.

Seriously, he'd gone through this ordeal before, but no matter how he looked at his situation now, the whole process seemed so... awkward. Was it because he cared if she'd be happy with his gift? Although knowing Akari, she wouldn't mind what gift he would give her since she was the type of person who valued the well-meaning intention behind the gesture more.

His worries were forced at the back of his mind when he realized that he couldn't find her. He had been wandering the school for quite a while now and there was still no sign of her. Thinking back, he'd heard her tell her friends that she wouldn't be eating with them before rushing off outside the classroom. He had assumed that she would be accompanying her friends from the other class at the cafeteria, so he made his way there while also being careful to avoid girls who were all beaming expectantly at him.

Kei arrived at the cafeteria but to his dismay, the girl was also nowhere to be found.

Sighing, he decided to give the gift to her after class instead. Lunch break was almost over and his stomach was already protesting for being ignored for so long.

He bought a sandwich and quickly hurried away from the noise and the company of his schoolmates. As he climbed the stairs to the school rooftop, his mind drifted to Akari again.

His orginal plan had been to give the gift to her before school started, but she had surprised him by arriving ten minutes late and looking more haggard and tired than ever before. At that moment, his thoughts had centered on what was happening with her that he had forgotten about White Day and that he was supposed to be giving her a gift.

It was obvious that something was bothering her, but he was just too thick-headed to ask or do something about it.

He mentally swore that the next time he saw her, he would definitely shake the truth out of her in one way or another. He was going to do the pestering this time whether she liked it or not and whether he knew how to do it or not.

He didn't have time to go back on his word because as soon as he opened the door to the rooftop, he was surprised to see Akari right there, huddling in a corner and sleeping soundly with a dopey grin on her lips.

"Hey, wake up."

Akari stirred slightly after several nudges and pokes, but his actions did nothing to completely wake her up. In fact, it only made her slump onto the floor as if she was sleeping on her bed, her cheek rubbing against the cool tile like she was snuggling against a pillow.

She looked so strangely comfortable that Kei didn't have the heart to tease her and jolt her awake. Instead, he quietly sat beside her and took a bite from his sandwich.

He honestly didn't know it would become this bad, but after thinking about it for a while, her antics yesterday should have been enough to give him a head's up. He remembered how she had been forced to attend the extra-curricular activity this Sunday because Mr. Himuro had somewhat caught her dozing off. He also had heard her female friends noticing the dark circles around her eyes and her ghastly complexion - Natsumi's outburst upon seeing a pimple or two on Akari's forehead had been particularly memorable. He also had witnessed her make quite a mess at ALUCARD when she had lost her grip on her tray and had broken a number of mugs and plates in the process.

He slowly took the carefully wrapped present from his bag, eyeing it as if it somehow offended him. Giving her a return gift for White Day seemed shallow and less important now. He left it beside her though because it seemed like a waste if he didn't give it to her now.

Now that he'd given her his gift, what else could he do? He couldn't just scold and nag her to stop pushing herself too hard for whatever reason.

He stared at her for a long while as if just by looking at her face the answer would suddenly pop in his head like magic. It didn't help as expected, but it did give him the opportunity to study her face.

She really did look tired. In fact, she looked like a ghost with that pale skin and that dark baggy eyes. Even her lips were dry and slightly cracked. He briefly wondered how his manager would react if he looked like that. As a model, that would be disastrous but very amusing. She'd definitely throw a hissy fit and would lock him up in his house for days so he could get some rest.

That was when an idea hit him. He looked at the sleeping girl beside him and berated himself for not realizing it earlier.

Akari needed to get some rest and that was what he was going to make sure of.

* * *

"About the extra-curricular class..."

Kei was cut short when Mr. Himuro let out a sigh and slowly whirled his chair to face him fully. "I suppose you want to hear the details about the trip? It seems you haven't been paying attention again. I know you're an excellent student, Hazuki. I've seen your end-of-term test results and I'm impressed that you've managed to get perfect scores in all subjects..." His expression turned soft, proud even. It was like how a parent would look at a child who came home wearing a number of medals around his neck. It only lasted for a few seconds though before Kei was once again subjected to a cool and appraising stare that reminded him why Mr. Himuro earned his infamous nickname. "As your homeroom teacher, it's in my best interests to see to it that you remain a perfect model student in this school, but in order to do that we need to discuss your habit of spacing out during classes."

"Umm... I already know about the trip." Kei quickly answered. As much as he appreciated Mr. Himuro's good intentions, he really didn't need to hear a long-winded speech about proper student behavior right now.

"Then I assume you're here to inform me that you're coming with us this Sunday? I don't remember seeing you raising your hand during that announcement, after all. "

Kei clenched and unclenched his hand "...No. I'm not going."

Mr. Himuro settled back comfortably on his chair, his hands intertwining in front of his face as if he was calculating what this was all about. "What brings you here then?"

"It's about Akari."

"Kimura?"

"She won't be attending the extra-curricular class." Kei was instantly placed under Mr. Himuro's scrutinizing gaze and he had to admit that the urge to fidget was almost irresistible.

"And for what reason?"

"She's..." Akari wasn't technically sick, but she would be if she didn't treat herself a much needed break this Sunday. It would only be a matter of days before Spring break, but he didn't think she could last another week. Worst case scenario, she'd get sick and spend her vacation cooped up in her bed all day long. "...not feeling well."

"Did she send you to tell me that she won't be able to attend?"

He wanted to say 'Yes she would** if** she was thinking straight.', but settled with a mumbled, "No."

A brief pause and a raised eyebrow hinted Kei that his teacher was getting curious. "Is she even aware that you're asking me to exempt her from the trip?"

"...No."

"...Are you in any position to decide what she wants to do?" Kei couldn't figure out if he was being sarcastic or not. He actually sounded amused more than anything, which ruffled Kei a bit since he didn't find anything amusing in this sudden interrogation at all. Was it so strange that he would do something like this for Akari?

With a determined voice that surprised even himself, Kei answered, "Yes, I am."

"You are?" Mr. Himuro's knitted eyebrows betrayed his astonishment. "In what grounds?"

"Because..." Kei frowned and pondered for a while. He wasn't going overboard was he? Struggling to hold his intense gaze, he answered firmly. "...I'm her friend."

There was a dramatic pause as he waited for his homeroom teacher to finish sipping from his cup of coffee. Mr. Himuro didn't look displeased with his answer, but he wasn't impressed either. Since Kei never made it a habit to get close to any of his teachers and Mr. Himuro was particularly difficult to read, he couldn't really tell if he was considering his request to let Akari off the hook or if he was just contemplating how he would kick him out of the faculty room.

"You're a very peculiar student, Hazuki." Mr. Himuro started. He looked like he was about to say something else, but stopped and drank from his cup again. "But I'm afraid I cannot grant your request. Kimura is a smart girl. She should know better than to test her limits."

Kei blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "She's very stubborn."

Mr. Himuro grew thoughtful for a moment. "Indeed. But if she really feels like she can't come tomorrow then I trust her to inform me about it."

Again, Kei's mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. "She wouldn't."

"I... see." Mr. Himuro was giving him a strange look that Kei almost regretted not keeping his mouth shut. He couldn't really think of how else he could convince his teacher to change his mind, but judging from the finality in his tone, their discussion was already over.

Should he come to the trip, after all? What about the meeting for his photo shoot? He never liked attending such business formalities, but his manager would strangle him if he didn't show up with her to close the deal. How else was he supposed to look out for Akari now? He wasn't experienced with these kinds of things, but he just didn't know what else he could do to help.

Although... he still had no idea what exactly possessed him to try convincing Mr. Himuro - someone who had once vehemently refused to give him full points on a math problem just because he forgot to add a .00 on his answer - instead of just telling Akari to stop being so bull-headed and reckless. Was he even fully awake when he came up with this stupid plan? Why did he even think he actually had a chance to change his teacher's mind?

Cringing at the thought of approaching Akari's female friends for help, Kei began to excuse himself from the older man's presence when Mr. Himuro called him again. "Hazuki, don't worry about Kimura. I'll see what I can do."

A small but reassuring smile graced his normally critical expression that Kei was almost compelled to leave everything up to him. He never cared about his teachers, but there was something in Mr. Himuro's voice that made him want to trust his words.

He left the faculty room in a brighter mood, but after thoroughly thinking about the type of person Mr. Himuro was, his footsteps slowed into a stop and a terrible, nagging feeling slowly crept and writhed uncomfortably inside his gut.

He didn't know what the strict teacher had planned on his mind, but he sure hoped that it didn't involve giving Akari some difficult research project so she would be forced not to come to the trip tomorrow and then telling her that it was Hazuki Kei's idea.

A few days later, Kei was grateful that Akari was her usual bubbly self again. He didn't know what Mr. Himuro did or if he did anything at all, but he did notice that Akari wasn't as scared and intimidated by their teacher anymore.

And if he asked her what happened, she would just chuckle and say, "I think pink is Mr. Himuro's favorite color."

* * *

**A/N:** Too bad Kei didn't get the credit for his efforts in helping Akari, huh? But that's the way life goes. Ahehehe. XD And I also hope you guys know what happened between Mr. Himuro and Akari. A certain Himuro CGI with a pink sky might jog your memories.

**BeautifulPichu:** Thanks! Oh! A Hibiya fan. That's surprising. I rarely see anyone liking Hibiya. Hehe!

**Bobborun:** Thank you and I'm glad you liked it! 3

**darkness01:** Thank you! I'm also glad that I get to see all of you again (that is if you guys are still reading this fic XD). They're going to fall in love soon enough but not that soon. Hehehe! It's more fun to get Kei confused and panicky first.

**erikachan:** Thank you, dear! 3

**Good Day Sunshine:** I know right? That damn writer's block can be such a pain in the ass. Hahaha! Thank you very much for liking the chapter!

**kurohananobara:** Thanks! I'll add a bit of romance in there soon, but just bits! Hehe! Romance has to start from somewhere after all. Hahaha!

**Meresta:** IMISSEDYOUTOO! XD Honestly I really did and writing for Tokimeki again is such a relief after all the troubles in real life. Thank you for your lovely support!

**mhie890:** Thank you! I've been gone for a long while again and I hope you weren't disappointed with the new chapter.

**Reader-chan:** Hehe! Thanks I'm really flattered! I think it's easy to love our Kei-kun all over again. XD

**Seonaid Mist:** Thank you very much! Continue ranting all the way. It's very interesting to learn more about my readers. 3 And I agree I hated Kei at first, too, because he's perfect and being a model is pushing it. But after getting to know him better, he's just too adorkable to resist. Hahaha! And I'm really glad that you think I've captured Kei's character. Thank you! XD


	17. Chapter 17: Insecurities

**A/N: **I can't seem to force myself to update this fic in a regular schedule... but oh well, I don't want to post chapters just for the heck of it, anyway. Thanks once again for reading and reviewing! You guys keep my interest in Tokimeki Memorial alive. 3

* * *

**Pages of a Storybook**

Chapter 17: April 29 – Insecurities

Kei never really cared much about holidays, especially ones that held little interest to him or weren't as hugely celebrated as Christmas, Valentine's Day, and the like. Such holidays were only important to take note of because it would be a pain if he made a mistake of waking up early and preparing himself for school when there was actually no school for that day at all.

Other than that, he treated holidays as normal as any other day where he could lounge freely in his room without anybody disturbing him.

The park was packed with people by the time he arrived. The sight of the crowd caught him completely unawares that he blinked a couple of times before his mind slowly digested what he was seeing.

He'd never seen so much people gathered together in the park... What was going on?

All thoughts were cut off, however, as soon as he laid eyes on the green and white banner hanging on top of the great arch of the park's entranceway.

"Greenery day...?" He mumbled under his breath, his glare centered on the banner's huge letters as if they were mocking him. At that moment, he never thought that his indifference to holidays would put him in such a troublesome situation.

"Kei-kun...?"

His annoyance was momentarily forgotten as soon as he saw Akari's surprised but clearly pleased face beaming up at him. Now where in the world did she come from? He didn't mind her company, but she really needed to stop her bizarre habit of popping out of nowhere.

"What are you doing staring so seriously at the banner?" She asked before narrowing her eyes at the banner herself and looking at it intently to see if there was anything wrong.

"You're here for the activities?" Kei asked, hoping to pry her attention away from the innocent sign because he thought that it could use a break since he had glared at it long enough for the day. As he studied her, he noted that she was wearing a relatively plain white shirt and loose pants. A small backpack was strapped on her shoulders.

"Yeah! Morimura-kun asked me to come and join him. I don't have anything else to do today, so I thought it might be fun!" She wasn't looking at him while answering because her attention was on the crowd. "Wow. I didn't think there's gonna be lots of people participating..."

Neither did he, but compared to her he didn't want to know how much more of them would come. "I see. I'll see you tomorrow then. Have fun." Without another word, he turned his back on her and started to return to the station.

"Wah! Wait, Kei-kun!" She chased after his retreating back and stopped him by pulling at the sleeves of his shirt. "What's wrong? Aren't you here for the park, too?"

"But..." He didn't mind going to the park, but if he knew that today was actually Greenery Day where the park would be bustling with activity and lots of people would come, then he wouldn't have come here at all. "...there are so many people."

"Of course there are. We're in a park and it's Greenery Day." She pointed out the obvious and he raised an annoyed eyebrow at her. "Don't you think it's more fun when the park is busy?"

"I prefer quieter places..." He took another step, but Akari refused to let go of his arm and tugged it insistently instead. Knowing her stubborn personality, it occurred to him that struggling would be fruitless.

"Oh, come on, Kei-kun! You're already here and the weather's really nice! And the park is huge, so there's definitely a place where you can lie down and sleep! I'll even help you look."

He gave her a questioning gaze. "Aren't you meeting up with Morimura?"

She waved a hand in a reassuring gesture. "It's fine. Arisawa-san's with him and I don't think they're here yet because I came pretty early. Also," She snickered and that instantly made him apprehensive. "It isn't too late yet to convince you to join us. The more the merrier, I say."

Her grin froze when Kei only looked at her with an unyielding frown.

"Okay... so maybe not." Her shoulders slumped in disappointment, but suddenly perked back up again in seconds. "Maybe you can watch?"

"Why do you want me to go?" He glanced warily at the crowd again and he could feel an eye involuntarily twitching.

"Because it'll be fun?"

"Fun for who?"

She pondered for a while. "You?"

"It won't." He answered readily then pursed his lips in a thin line. "And you don't even sound so sure."

Smiling slyly, she told him, "That's why we're going to find out."

Kei sighed in exasperation. God, she could be so persistent sometimes! He knew that she only meant well, but he just couldn't stand the idea of relaxing there with all the buzz hammering in his ears. He was being childish, but it didn't change the fact that he hated crowds and noisy places.

"And besides," She sniffed dramatically, halting his thoughts. "you're not really going to leave me here by myself, are you?"

He answered her with a deadpan expression and a lengthy pause.

"Even with a pretty please?" She made a face at him, her eyes wide and her bottom lip protruding. He narrowed his eyebrows and studied her goo goo-eyed pout. Was this the face she used whenever she wanted to get things done her way?

He snorted when something else caught his attention instead. "Oh." He placed a finger on her cheek and pressed down, causing one eye to open even wider. "Eye crust."

As Akari made him her human shield while they pushed through the crowds of people hanging out by the entrance, Kei could still feel the sharp pain on his arm where she had punched him.

They didn't have any particular place in the park where they wanted to go, so for the next few minutes, the two continued to follow where the stoned pathway would eventually lead them while keeping an eye out for potential spots for Kei to settle down.

Well... at least it seemed that way to Kei because he really was trying to look for a place where he could relax. His companion, on the other hand, was no help at all since she kept on getting distracted with her surroundings.

Whenever they passed by a group of nature lovers huddled together to plant tree saplings, she didn't forget to drop by and mingle with each one of them. Twice she forced them to stop so she could watch in awe as teens or kids do crazy stunts with their bicycles and skateboards. She also kept on pointing and commenting about anything, like how blue and clear the lake was with all the fat fishes swimming around, how that particular tree was dangling with fruits that she would have taken a bite of one of them if she only knew how to climb a tree, how the patch of flowers were blooming so beautifully that she wanted to take pictures... It went on and on and Kei wondered - yet again - how strange she was because she found everything so curiously interesting.

Secretly, he preferred it that way. If she didn't talk, then it would fall onto him to think of something to say to avoid an awkward silence. That thought alone was enough to make him frown.

But then again... maybe it was time for him to start reading up on interesting topics to talk about?

By the time he found a decent place to rest, Kei was exhausted and he sprawled on the grass without a care in the world. And it wasn't long before Akari also found the people she was originally supposed to be with.

"Kei-kun, look! Morimura-kun and Arisawa-san were already here, after all!"

Kei opened an eye to peer at the crowd of people huddled together at a rich patch of land on top of a slightly sloping hill. The bandanas they wore around their heads were bright green and shone even brighter under the glare of the afternoon sun. Each of them held small shovels through mud-stained gloves as they crouched low to dig and plant seedlings, flowers, or shrubs. A middle-aged man stood amongst them, patiently giving out instructions on what to do next. He wasn't doing a very good job at it though because most of the participants were teenagers who looked happier chatting and joking with their friends than take their tasks seriously.

Amidst the hunched shoulders, Morimura's petite figure was almost impossible to spot, but his companion managed to find him just as easily as plucking a kitten in a litter of puppies.

"Go join them. I'll be fine here." He said and inwardly wished that she wouldn't pester him to also participate because he rather liked stretching on the grass with his arms behind his head. The branches of the huge tree next to them were thick and abundant with leaves so they were comfortably shaded from the sun.

"All right." Her face brightened and she immediately stood up, grabbing her gloves and shovel from her backpack. She ran towards the group in a hurry. For a second there, he thought that they were separating ways without even a word of goodbye. His arm itched to reach out when she suddenly stopped halfway and looked back, shouting, "Don't go anywhere, okay?" She threw her backpack at him and he barely caught it with his hands. "You can use that as a pillow if you want!"

Sleep, unfortunately, didn't easily descend on him despite how relaxed he was, so he contented himself by focusing on Akari and her friends, hoping that he'd become so bored at watching that it would lull him to sleep.

She was talking gleefully with Morimura and the four-eyed girl as they dug holes on the earth with their shovels. They were too far away for Kei to hear anything, but he assumed that she just said something strange from the way Morimura chuckled in a demure manner while the other girl just shook her head in amusement. When it was Morimura's turn to talk, both listened attentively and their admiration for the little guy was written plainly on their faces - with more careful inspection, Kei could even see tinges of pink on the other girl's cheeks. Akari, as usual, didn't let go of the spotlight for long and the attention was drawn to her again when she wiggled her shoulders and said a joke or something that caused Morimura to laugh more freely while the other girl forced down her smiles with her hand.

Kei studied Akari's wide grins and it felt strange to see another side of her that she never showed him whenever they were together. That wasn't to say that she wasn't loud and animated when he was with him, but compared to the Akari that he was seeing now, the Akari he knew was more... tamed, perhaps? It was like she was holding back a part of herself that she was still uncomfortable to show him. It only served as a reminder that he was nowhere near as close to her as these people.

He turned his back on them and squeezed his eyes shut.

Minutes or maybe hours had passed when Kei groggily awoke from thumping footsteps slowly approaching him. His vision was still blurry when a pair of shoes appeared in his line of sight. He looked up just in time to see Akari lowering herself on the grass beside him. He breathed in deeply and stretched out before shifting his body aside to give the girl more space.

"Sorry, Kei-kun." She bit her lip sheepishly as she brought her knees to her chest. "I woke you, didn't I?"

His throat had become dry, so it took a while before he voiced his own question. "You done?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Not really. There are still more tree saplings to plant on another area later, but I don't think I'll be taking part in it."

From the way she was acting, it almost seemed like she was begging him to ask her what was bothering her. "Something wrong?" He sat up and grabbed two water bottles inside her bag. He tossed one to her while he uncapped the other for himself.

She snorted and gave him a look of disbelief. "Nothing's wrong! And what makes you say that?" The fact that she immediately avoided his gaze afterward and kept glancing at her other friends told him otherwise. It also conveniently narrowed his choice of culprits.

"You look weird." He replied and pretended to be in deep thought. "Like a cat pooping in a litter box."

She almost spitted the water she was drinking. "Kei-kun!" She exclaimed, aghast at his crudeness. That didn't stop her from laughing out loud, though. "You're rude."

"Just an observation." The edge of his lips twisted upward when she stuck her tongue at him. "So what is it?"

"It's just that..." She squirmed uneasily as she threw several more glances at Morimura and the four-eyed girl. "I get this strange feeling that Arisawa-san doesn't want me there. I mean, I know that she's always been stern, but it's kind of different this time, you know?"

Noticing her clear discomfort, Kei leaned back and supported his upper body with his elbows before directing his attention towards Akari's distress. He'd never talked with the girl before, but he'd seen her a few times at school. Of course, he'd never really paid any close attention to her, but fortunately she had already left him an impression during their Christmas party that she'd be the no-nonsense, straight-As type of girl. That was why it came as a surprise to see her starry-eyed and giggling in front of Morimura.

"She likes him." He said in a matter-of-fact tone even though he wasn't truly sure of his observations. For all he knew she was just happy with planting flowers and the heat was just causing the color to rise to her cheeks. He didn't want Akari to think that he was taking the issue lightly, though, so his answer had to be thought-provoking at the very least.

"Really? I think so, too." She scrunched her face up in frustration and Kei was amused at himself for guessing that one right. "Then why is she getting angry at me for?"

Again, he replied with something typical. "She probably thinks you're competition."

Her eyes widened at that. "Me? Why me? I didn't do anything!"

He answered with a bored shrug of his shoulders and lied down on the grass again. Maybe he shouldn't have opened up this idea, after all. How was he supposed to answer anything regarding someone else's love life?

"She didn't have to worry about me..." She grumbled to herself and played with the grass with her fingertips. "I don't think of Morimura-kun that way..."

"But you do spend a lot of time with him, don't you?" He didn't know what possessed him to say that since he was the one who wanted stop this silly conversation in the first place. It was disconcerting how his mouth just blurted out what was on his mind.

Akari looked down at him and her knitted eyebrows showed how she found the idea ridiculous. "Sure I do, but that's only because he's so nice and he's a great study buddy. Isn't he your friend? I mean, don't you guys occasionally meet here?"

That was a different case altogether. It was more like Morimura tended to stumble upon him while he was sleeping somewhere in the park. It just so happened that Morimura was too good-natured to pass up a chance to talk to a familiar face. "I don't see him that much anymore."

"Really? How come?"

"...I don't know." Why ask him? It wasn't as if he was visiting the park only because he wanted to meet up with the guy. He couldn't even remember the last time they met.

"Anyway," She resumed her uncharacteristic gloomy disposition. "We were having so much fun before... I wonder if there was something I said that annoyed her?"

Kei studied her face and noticed how truly disappointed she was, making him even more uncomfortable than before. He decided that he didn't like seeing his friend like this and the sudden urge to do something rose within him yet again. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Huh?" She acted as if he startled her out of her thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"I'll just tell her not to misunderstand and you're not hitting on Morimura."

Instead of being pleased, she gawked at him as if he just said something incredibly stupid. "What? No!" She grabbed his arm in a tight grip.

Kei frowned. She didn't have to dig her nails on his arm that hard. "Why not?"

"Y-You can't do that. That's embarrassing!" Her cheeks were getting red and she seemed desperate enough to tackle him to the ground if he stood up and approached the other two. "I-I'll find time to talk with Arisawa-san myself. Thank you, Kei-kun."

He couldn't see why she should be embarrassed about it, but he decided to just let it go. He wouldn't know how to react if the four-eyed girl lashed at him for butting in their personal business anyway. But did this mean that Akari was going to mope around all the day? Maybe if he distracted her, it would take her mind off her other friends. But what would be the best way to catch her interest?

The solution was obvious, but in a moment of selfishness, he almost hesitated to say it. He did so anyway when she let out a heavy sigh. "I've never participated in tree planting before." He watched her expression slowly change. "Is it fun?"

His not-so subtle invitation was not lost to the surprised Akari. Not thinking twice, she immediately grabbed at the chance and grinned broadly at him. "I'll show you how it's done! It's really easy!"

He didn't like this idea, but maybe this was for the best. Besides, it gave him the chance to prove to her other friends that they were not the only ones whose company Akari enjoyed.

Unfortunately for him, that was when it happened.

He'd been to the park numerous times than he could count, but not all of those visits had been nice thanks to his steadily growing popularity as a model. He was no stranger to lingering looks, pointing fingers, squeals, and - most annoying of all - girls who chase and surround him like a pack of wolves. Being a constant prey, he knew how to distinguish tell-tale signs of these crazed females. If his senses were right, a group of them was approaching their direction in an alarming pace.

Agitated nerves shouted at him to run and stealthily slip away, but he wasn't alone at the moment and there was no way he'd leave Akari behind.

Seeing no other alternatives, he pounced on her.

"Hah!" She let out a small squeak of surprise as he grabbed her waist and shifted their bodies so they both rolled over to the thick bushes and tall grass. The damp smell of earth and mud filled his nostrils as the sharp ends of small branches poked him through his shirt. "Kei-kun? Wh-What?"

"Shhh..." He placed a finger over his lips in an attempt to keep her quiet before angling his head to peer over the bushes. He could feel her squirming underneath him, but he was too busy straining his ears for any sound of footsteps and voices.

When she didn't stop her squirming, he finally decided to warn her with a glare, but found himself amused at her bulging eyes and gaping mouth. She looked like a mess. There were twigs and leaves that were stuck and tangled in her hair. Even the side of her cheeks were slightly covered in mud.

For a moment, guilt nagged at him for causing her to look so disheveled. He hoped she wouldn't be too upset with him.

He was so busy staring at her that, to his surprise, her whole face grew so red that he wondered if she was in the middle of hyperventilating. He narrowed his eyebrows in a mixture of confusion and worry, but he didn't have time to wonder about her strange expression when he finally heard faint voices coming their way.

"Ah, geez! I lost sight of him! Where did he go?"

So intent was he not to be found out that he quickly lowered his arms, which were supporting his weight, and dipped his head closer to Akari that it was almost like their cheeks were touching.

Akari stopped squirming then, but it didn't make him feel any better because her body became still as stone. Only the feel of her unsteady breathing and the sound of her heartbeat drumming wildly against his chest indicated that she was still very much conscious.

"It's Hazuki Kei! I read from the magazine that he comes here often!"

Stupid girls and their crazy, senseless obsessions! He was never happy to have them before, but he'd never imagined being so annoyed at them as much as he did now. Still, it wouldn't help their situation at all if he got careless due to his darkening mood.

He listened intently for the unwanted visitors and it felt like an eternity before their chatter and footsteps receded. He waited for a few more seconds just to be sure. "...Are they gone?" He asked hopefully. If he had been paying attention, he would have felt her slightly jump at his voice.

She tilted her head to the side and made tendrils of auburn hair tickle his nose. "Yeah, probably..." She whispered, clearly uneasy.

Silently cursing his rotten luck, Kei forced himself to calm down by closing his eyes for a few seconds then taking a deep breath. He was ashamed of himself for involving her in his troubles. His stomach sank at the thought that she would never have to deal with any of this if she was with her other friends...

"...H-Hey." It wasn't her words that shook him out of his self pity, rather the warmth of her breath that grazed the tip of his ear when she turned her head again and spoke. "Should we get out of here now?"

His eyes snapped open and it was only then that he was made aware of the compromising position he had unknowingly put themselves into. He was practically leaning half of his weight on her and his eyes widened at the flustered look she wore on her face.

A passing thought invaded his head and it clicked then that Akari was very much a girl. Slightly skinny, but strangely soft.

He felt heat at the back of his neck as he hurriedly pulled away before clumsily helping her back to her feet. They brushed twigs and dirt from their hair and clothes, but the awkward tension hung in the air as if it was ready to be tipped over and spill over their heads.

Thankfully, Akari was back to her usual bubbly self again in minutes. "That was a surprise... You are so popular as always, Kei-kun!" Her voice was lacking that teasing tone whenever she picked fun at him. She was just genuinely bewildered, maybe even impressed...?

He wasn't sure how he should react to that since - if anyone asked him for an honest opinion - being hounded by fangirls would never become a compliment. "...Nah."

"But..." His dilemma must have been written plainly on his face because Akari's smile had turned into a sympathetic one. "It must be hard. Does such a thing happen a lot?"

He wanted to say no, but it wouldn't do him any good to lie. "...Pretty much." In a way, he wanted her to see what it would take to become his friend, but a large part of him also didn't want to scare her off. Once more, he remembered Morimura and the four-eyed girl. "You probably start to think that you shouldn't have stayed with me..."

In the end, compared to those two, he was only more trouble than what he was worth.

Her reaction was slow and she scrunched her face as if she had something in her mind. When she approached him with a determined gleam in her brown eyes, he reluctantly took a step back.

He wasn't prepared when she patted him on the shoulder and gave a thumb's up. "I'm totally okay! I felt like I was in a spy movie." She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed childishly. "It was fun!"

Kei watched her poke him with the gun-gesture she made using her hands. She smirked, her suggestive look inviting him to join her and do a rather embarrassing pose. "Akari, you..." He trailed off, his conflicting emotions leaving him unable to make out what he truly wanted to communicate.

"Hmm?" She seemed oblivious at the stares that some people in the park were throwing their way.

His insecurities vanished and an unfamiliar heat surged on both his cheeks. He showed his gratefulness as well as his immense relief by saying, "You're a really weird girl..."

As odd as it may be, he figured that it was her uniqueness that drew them closer together all this time, anyway.

* * *

**A/N: **Gah... the chapters are getting longer and longer. To be honest, the drabble I wrote for this a long time ago went differently, but then according to my outline, I seem to have triggered this event on Greenery day, so I had to make some adjustments. Sorry for those of you who expected this event as a romantic sort. That's what I thought at first, too, considering the amount of hearts you can get on skinship, but I think it really is more about Kei dealing with his issues.

Thanks once again for supporting me! It always brightens my day to hear from all of you! Stay tuned for the next chapter because I'll be bringing in the stalker principal for Kei to deal with. Hehehe! XD

**aimiera:** Yep, it's Himuro's pink magical stress reliever! I also wish that you can activate it more than once. XD

**Alice:** Hello, there! Thank you very much, dear! You flatter me so and it's making me giddy. Hahaha! XD I honestly think that the whole CG bento scene in the game should be activated only if Kei's in :) state and above. And I'll be manipulating a lot more CGs in this story, but as of now I'm struggling where I should add them in my messy outline. ^^; Thank you again for your support!

**darkness01:** Hey, hey! It's really nice to see you again! Sadly, my journey was short-lived and I'm once again back to square one. It was quite a learning experience and it makes you realize what you're capable of. Anyway, it makes me happy you're still supporting me. Thank you very much!

**nattie:** Nattie! I'm very glad to see you again! I'm kind of guilty of neglecting this fic, too, but I'm happy that people are still reading and reviewing. XD Well, I have to say that being independent will change your views a lot and what's important to you. Sadly, it didn't go as well as I planned, but I won't be giving up just yet...! Thanks a lot for your support!

**Reader-chan:** Thank you! XD Kei-kun is cute and hot! Hahaha!

**terisu:** Thank you very much! Kei is my all-time favorite in all the TM games. Sadly there aren't a lot of Kei fanfics here... It would be nice to have a fellow Hazuki Kei writer. Will you volunteer? XD


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